


Of Puppies and Good-Luck Charms

by Daisy78173, Roosterteethlover



Category: RWBY
Genre: Ace Ops family (Eventually), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Marrow, Dad Clover, Elm Ederne is amazing, Fluff, Found Family, Harriet is a Jerk for a few chapters, Hurt/Comfort, Malnutrition, Marrow is a child and found by Clover au, Mentions of faunus racism, Past Child Abuse, Salem is defeated already au, Tickling, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trigger Warnings, We put Marrow through to much, Will updats tags as story progresses, hospital visits, it's really cute i promise, mentions of child abuse, she gets better i SWEAR, talks of past abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 68,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23685349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daisy78173/pseuds/Daisy78173, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roosterteethlover/pseuds/Roosterteethlover
Summary: After a Large Grimm attack, Clover is patrolling the street of Mantle for ant stragglers. He never expected to find a young faunus hiding in the rubble.
Relationships: Marrow Amin & Clover Ebi
Comments: 70
Kudos: 65





	1. Found Strays and New Homes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Daisy78173](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daisy78173/gifts).



> Hello! And welcome to this adorable fic! This was a collab piece that was also a request from Daisy78173! She has been super super fun to work with and I look forward to working with more with her as the story goes on!

It hadn’t been a pretty fight, nor an easy one. But in the end, they had finished it. Clover couldn’t really say they had won, all the destroyed buildings and the civilian casualties had taken the victory from him and his team. Now he wandered the empty streets, searching for any more survivors, be they Grimm or civilians. 

“Charlie, this is Hotel, my section is clear. Moving to the next.” Harriets voice spoke from his ear piece. Leave it to the speedster to finish in record time.

“10-4 Hotel, stay safe.” Clover replied as he scanned the street ahead. 

So far nothing was here, which was both a blessing and a curse. Nothing here meant no Grimm, but it also meant no civilians. Clover sighed, this job never got easier, but it was what he signed up for. 

“Come on Clover, think about all the lives you did save. You know dwelling is bad for your health.” he muttered to himself, though the softly spoken words felt loud in the surrounding silence.

As did the quiet whimper from the alleyway next to him.

Clover stopped at hearing the noise. A whimper? Probably not a Grimm then, but he would proceed with caution regardless.

“This is Charlie, I think I found something.” he said into his ear piece, slowly moving towards where he had heard the noise.

“Be careful Charlie.” Vine cautioned.

Clover didn’t reply stalking ever closer to the noise, his hand placed on Kingfisher, ready for anything. 

Anything it seemed, except for a crying child covered in tattered clothes and blood stains. The boy was small, far too small really, all skin and bone. He had dark skin, dirty matted greenish black hair and a tail. Clover sucked in a breath, his hand quickly leaving Kingfisher's handle as he crouched down in front of the boy.

“Hey there buddy.” Clover gently said, his hand reaching tentatively out for the boy.

The child flinched, curling further into himself as he looked at Clover with terrified blue eyes. Clover quickly rescinded his hand, placing it instead over his knee.

“It’s alright, I’m not gonna hurt you.” he soothed, moving a fraction closer to the boy, “My name is Clover, I’m a huntsman. What’s your name?” 

The boy sniffled, “M-M-Marrow.” 

Clover gave him a warm smile, “It’s nice to meet you Marrow. Are you all alone out here? Where are your parents?”

Marrow's eyes filled once again with tears, “I-I don’t have any sir.”

Clover's heart broke at Marrow's words, this poor kid, who was taking care of him? And where were they? Had he really been alone through that whole attack? It was a miracle he was alive.

“Who’s taking care of you then?” Clover asked, scooting a little closer to the boy, wanting nothing more than to hug him and sooth those tears away.

“Nobody. They were mean at the orphanage so I ran away.” Marrow suddenly looked up at Clover terrified, “Please sir! Please don’t make me go back! They’ll hurt me! And pull my tail! And lock me up in the dark room again! Please I don’t wanna go back!”

Clover was close to tears now, who could ever hurt a child? And even he knew that pulling a faunuses trait was a huge taboo. What had this poor boy been through?

“Hey, hey, I won’t bring you back there ok? I promise.” Clover soothed, not letting his own sorrow for the child bleed through.

“P-pinkie promise?” Marrow asked, tentatively holding his pinky out for Clover to take.

Clover almost laughed, even though the kid had clearly been through hell and back, he still held such innocence.

“Yeah, I pinkie promise.” Clover took the boy's pinkie in his own, dwarfing it by comparison, and shook it once. 

“Now,” Clover began once they had separated pinkies, “would you like to come with me? We can get you cleaned up, and get a nice hot meal into the belly of yours.” poking Marrow's belly as he spoke.

Marrow giggled, his tail thumping lightly against the ground, “Ok. But where are we going?”

“We’re gonna go to Atlas.” Clover smiled, gently scooping Marrow into his arms. Gods the boy was practically lighter than air, how long had he been living on the streets? How long had it been since he last ate? 

“Atlas?” Marrow asked in awe, his eyes wide and his tail moving fast in excitement, “I’ve never been to Atlas before!”

Clover chuckled, “Really? Well I live up there, it’s a pretty nice place. But just between you and me.” Clover exaggeratedly looked around and leaned in to whisper, “It’s kinda boring.”

Marrow giggled, “No way! I heard Atlas is full of super cool high tech stuff!”

“Yes way! All the tech in the world couldn’t make Atlas fun!” Clover grinned, wiggling his fingers gently into Marrow's belly, making the child giggle.

“But don’t they have robots that can make ice cream whenever you want and flying cars and giant toy stores that take up whole blocks?” Marrow babbled, bouncing slightly in Clover's arms.

“Sorry little buddy, but we don’t. Well, we do have robots who can make ice cream, just not whenever you want.” Clover smiled, glad to see the boy looking so happy.

Marrow blew a little raspberry and sunk a bit into Clovers arms, “That’s dumb.”

“Yeah, it kinda is. But still it’s home. Now hang tight for a second I gotta talk to my teammates.” Clover said, lifting his free hand to his ear piece. 

“Hotel, Echo, Victor, this is Charlie. I found a civilian, a kid, the rest of the sector is clear. Heading to the drop zone.” 

Once he relayed the information he looked at Marrow, who was giving him a curious look.

“Who’s Hotel, Echo, and Victor? And I thought you said your name was Clover, not Charlie.” Marrow asked, his head tilted to the side. 

Clover laughed a bit at the innocence of the question, “My name is Clover, Charlie is just a codename. Hotel, Victor, and Echo are my team's codenames. Their real names are Harriet, Vine, and Elm.” 

“Where's the drop zone? Also what’s a drop zone?” Marrow asked next. What a curious kid.

“The drop zone is just ahead, and it’s the spot where we’ll meet everyone and get into the ship that takes us to Atlas.” Clover explained, playfully jostling the boy.

Marrow smiled at him and clung a little tighter to Clover's shirt. Upon reaching the drop zone, they were followed quickly by Harriet, who took one look at the kid and scoffed. Clover elected to ignore it for the time being in favor of rubbing up and down Marrows back, the boy was shaking for some reason.

“You alright buddy?” Clover murmured, unconsciously rocking back and forth on his heels.

Marrow just nodded, burying his face deeper into the crook of Clovers neck. Clover soothed his hand through Marrow's dark hair gently pulling out the knots and tangles. Next to show was Elm who took one look at the child in Clovers arms and came rocketing over.

“Who is this little one?” she gushed, a wide excited grin on her face.

Marrow whined and burrowed deeper into Clover's neck, “This is Marrow. He’s been through a lot, and is very shy.” Clover threw a pointed look at Elm, who quickly got the hint and backed off.

“He’s so cute! It’s nice to meet you sweetie! I’m Elm!” she grinned, bouncing on her heels.

Marrow peaked his head out slightly and murmured, “Hi.”

Elms grin grew even wider, “Hello!”

Vine was the final one to show up, sliding up next to Elm looking curiously at Marrow.

“Hello young one. I am Vine Zeki. Who are you?” his voice was even and soft, Marrow peaked further out from Clovers neck.

“Um, I’m Marrow.” he mumbled, looking at his feet.

Vine smiled softly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too.” Marrow all but whispered, cuddling closer to Clover.

“Ok are we done with the whole getting to know you game now? Can we find the kids' parents and go?” Harriet said irritatedly, crossing her arms with a glare.

Clover leveled the smaller woman with an icy stare, “He doesn’t have parents, or guardians. He was being miss treated by the people who were caring for him, so we’re taking him to Atlas to see what the General wants to do with him.”

“General?” Marrow squeaked, his eyes starting to fill with tears, “But-but I heard he yells a lot, and shoots bad soldiers, and-and he d-docks f-faunus.”

Clover quickly but gently shushed him, “No no, I promise the General isn’t like that at all! He’s really nice, he doesn’t yell nearly as much as others say, and he doesn’t actually shoot bad soldiers, that's just what he tells new cadets to scare them, and Marrow I promise, I swear, he would never ever dock a faunus. He’s a good man, just a little scary.”

Marrow sniffled, “Ok, you promise?”

“Yeah I promise.” Clover gently smiled, ruffling the boy's hair softly.

Harriet scoffed again, making Clover shoot her a glare as the transport arrived.

“You ready to go to Atlas little buddy?” Elm beamed, shifting excitedly from foot to foot as she looked at Marrow.

“Umm, I-I guess?” Marrow hesitated.

“That’s the spirit! You’re gonna love it there!” Elm cheered, throwing her hands in the air.

Marrow tentatively smiled at her and Clover felt his heart melt a little bit. Soon they were all seated in the air craft, Clover sat with Marrow in his lap. The boy seemed rather terrified at first, his tail down and slightly curled around his waist.

“Hey buddy, you wanna see something cool?” Clover asked, gaining the child's attention. 

“Ok.” Marrow replied, his tail lifting slightly.

Clover grinned and lifted Marrow from his lap, placing him in front of a window, “Look out the window.” 

Marrow gasped and Clover grinned, the kid's tail was wagging a million miles and hour and his eyes were bright with excitement. Clover looked out the window next to Marrows taking in the scenery. 

The sun was setting and it cast Atlas in a gorgeous array of fiery colors. The light reflecting off the buildings and making the floating city practically glow. It was a sight that Clover never got sick of, even after seeing it for nearly all his life. Glancing at the child next to him he had a feeling that Marrow would be in the same boat. Clover smiled, it was good to see the young faunus so happy. He hoped it was a feeling that would last, the poor kid deserves no less.

“Sir it’s so pretty!” Marrow gushed, not tearing his gaze away from the window.

“Call me Clover kid, and yeah. It is isn't it.” Clover smiled, glacing once more out the window at the setting sun.

Far too quickly the ride was over and the group shuffled out, the adrenaline from the previous fight finally starting to wear off. Clover lifted Marrow back into his arms and followed his team out of the ship. Upon exiting the vehicle he was greeted by the General. James Ironwood stood tall and proud, his piercing blue eyes laying a steady gaze over the operatives, stopping when they reached Clover and Marrow. 

“Agent Ebi. I see you brought a guest. Mind explaining yourself?” the General spoke, his voice cool and even.

“Here, I’ll take him while you talk to the General.” Elm offered, reaching out to take Marrow from his arms.

Marrow whimpered and clung tighter to Clover, “Please don’t go!”

Clover took his free arm and gently rubbed circles in Marrows back. He began walking in bouncing circles as he gently shushed the tearful child in his arms. 

“It’s ok, it’s alright. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here ok? I’m right here.” Clover soothed, moving his hand to pet through Marrow's hair.

Marrow soon calmed down and took to sucking his thumb and holding onto Clovers shirt. Clover let out a soft breath and walked over to the General. 

“Sir, I found him while on patrol alone and scared in an alleyway. He doesn’t have any parents and his previous guardians were mistreating him. I-sir, I can’t bring him back there. He needs a good home, with people who will love him and properly take care of him.” Clover looked to James with pleading eyes.

“Agent Ebi, are you asking to take this child?” he asked, his voice serious as the dead.

“I-yes. I am asking to take him in. He needs someone to be there for him, and he’s already quite attached to me, and I find that I’ve grown pretty attached to him. Please sir, let me take him in. At least until I can find him somewhere safe for him to live.” Clover pleaded, more begged really.

James fixed him with a stare, cold and analytical, before seeming to find what he was looking for and nodded. “Very well. You may take him for the time being. But as soon as you find a place for him to go, you are to leave him there, understood?”

“Yes sir. Understood sir.” Clover gave the best salute he could manage with a child in his arms.

James nodded once more and turned to leave, “Good, I expect your full report on my desk tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.” Clover let out a relieved sigh as the General left, happy that that was over with for now.

“So,” Vine spoke up from next to him, “you are going to care for him?” 

Clover offered his teammate a small smile, “Guess so. This is gonna be interesting to say the least.” 

“You can say that again!” Elm exulted, throwing an arm around Vine and grinning.

Harriet huffed, “Just keep him out of the way. We don’t need any distractions.” 

“Let’s just get to bed.” Clover sighed, he hoped this disdain for the kid didn’t last too long. Marrow had had enough difficulties in his life as it was, he didn’t need a grumpy Harriet to add to that.

“It would seem our little guest has beaten us to the punch.” Vine said, a rare smile on his face.

Clover gave him a confused look before looking over at Marrow. He was greeted by the cutest sight this side of Remnant. Marrow had his thumb half hung in his mouth and was breathing evenly. 

“Poor little guy, been a big day for him.” Clover quietly mused, smiling at the bundle of cuteness in his arms. 

“Lets get him into a proper bed shall we?” Vine said, gently taking Marrow's thumb from his mouth.

“Yeah.” Clover agreed.

By the time they all got to their respective living quarters they were all bone tired. It had been a long day for everyone. But alas, duty ever beckons, and Clover had a report to fill out. And a kid to clean up and feed. 

So after carefully setting Marrow down on the couch in the Ace Ops common room he set about making something the kid might like. He wasn’t sure what Marrow enjoyed in terms of food, or anything else for that matter, so he just reheated some leftover macaroni and cheese. It was from Elms turn at cooking, it was really the only thing she could make without burning the place down. So long as someone was there to help her at least.

“Marrow? Hey buddy I know you’re tired but you gotta eat something ok?” Clover gently petted up and down Marrow's arm, something his own mother had done when she wanted to wake him.

Marrow woke and blinked blearily at Clover, “Whas goin on?” he slurred.

“I promised you a hot meal, remember? You like mac and cheese?” Clover asked, picking the sleepy boy up and carrying him to the kitchen.

“Duno, nver had it.” Marrow yawned, clearly fighting to keep his eyes open.

Clover felt an odd knot form in his stomach at the words. A kid being denied something as simple as macaroni and cheese just didn't sit right with him. He knew people had it worse, especially faunus. But to see it with his own eyes just made it hit different. 

“Well I bet you’re gonna love it. Elm made it the other day.” Clover placed the bowl in front of Marrow and began working on his report as the boy ate. He had to remind Marrow not to fall asleep just yet once or twice, but soon the food was gone and it was bath time.

Clover took Marrow to his bathroom and was left at an impasse. Was Marrow old enough to bathe by himself? If he wasn't, was it ok for Clover, a relative stranger, to bathe him? 

“Marrow how old are you?” Clover asked as Marrow took off his shirt, the operative wasn’t going to let him sleep in that old thing that was for sure. He was pretty sure he could spare a t-shirt for the kid, it would be pretty big on him but it was just for tonight. He could get the boy some proper clothes tomorrow. 

“This many.” the boy said, holding up five fingers.

“Can you clean yourself?” it felt like a weird question to ask, but he needed to know.

“Umm, I think so?” the way Marrow's eyes drooped told Clover that maybe leaving the sleep deprived child alone in a tub full of water might be a bad idea.

“How about I help you out? I’ll get those hard to reach places on your back.” Clover joked, spidering his fingers over Marrows back, making the young faunus giggle.

“Ok.” Marrow tiredly smiled at Clover and finished undressing.

Clover had started to bath while he and Marrow had been talking so it was ready by the time Marrow was ready to get in. 

Marrow let out a relaxed sigh as he stepped into the warm water, enjoying the warmth that enveloped him. Clover began pouring water as gently as he could on Marrow's head. Once his hair was deemed wet enough Clover moved to work some shampoo through it, washing all the gunk and dirt from the greenish black locks. Once he had sufficiently rinsed and repeated with the shampoo, he moved to the conditioner. Once that was complete, he began the task he had been dreading the most. Marrows back. 

He didn’t want to make the child uncomfortable, but it had to be done. He took a washcloth, lathered it with soap and began his task. Bit by bit, rinse by rinse, Clover saw the full picture of how bad Marrow’s life had been. On Marrow's back were many scars, bruises, and still healing wounds. It made Clover sick to his stomach that anyone would do this to a child. He was gentle in his cleaning, not wanting to hurt the boy further. He was gonna have to get some bandaids and medical pads for the open wounds. The bruises would heal on their own but he would put some ice on them later. 

When he had reached where Marrow's tail connected to his back, Clover paused. It was pretty taboo to just touch a faunuses trait without prior permission, unless it was something like scales or fur that couldn’t be avoided.

“Marrow? Is it ok for me to clean your tail? Or did you want to do that yourself?” Clover asked.

Marrow was quiet for a moment, Clover would have thought he had fallen asleep if it weren't for the cloth that still rubbed at his arms. “Do you promise you won’t pull it?” Marrow asked softly, almost sounding scared.

“I pinkie promise.” Clover said, holding out his pinkie to Marrow.

Marrow looked at him and then at the pinkie before taking it with his own, they shook once and Marrow turned back to his own cleaning. Clover only hesitated a moment longer before getting the shampoo and beginning to clean Marrow's tail. 

The fur was matted and there were uneven patches, as though the fur had been yanked from that spot. Clover gently and carefully worked out the mats, being as gentle as possible. This was the first time he had ever touched a faunuses trait. He didn’t want to hurt Marrow, especially when he had put so much trust in him. 

Soon the tail was clean, as was the rest of Marrow. So after draining the tub (something he had needed to do several times. Marrow was one dirty child) he grabbed the fluffiest towel he could and dried off the boy. He carried the towel swaddled boy to his room.

“Alright buddy, this is where you’re gonna sleep tonight ok?” Clover asked, lightly jostling the sleepy child in his arms.

“Wer you gon sleep?” Marrow mumbled into Clovers shoulder.

*Sweet kid.* he thought.

“I’m gonna sleep out in the common room. Don’t worry, the couch has a bed in it so I’ll be alright.” Clover explained, putting the boy on the bed and grabbing a t-shirt from his closet.

“Here, you can wear this for tonight. We’ll get you some proper pj’s tomorrow.” he smiled, laughing a bit at the boys bleary blink. 

“Here, I’ll help you, lift up your arms.” Marrow lifted his arms and Clover pulled the shirt over him. The garment all but swallowed the boy whole. Clover was almost tempted to take a picture, it was pretty adorable. 

Once Clover was sure Marrow was all settled in he left for the common room. He had kept his door open, just in case Marrow woke up and needed something. As he pulled out the bed he couldn’t help but wonder just what he was going to do.

He had just taken an orphan faunus into Atlas, the most anti-faunus state in all of Remnant. How was he gonna find a good family for the kid here? There had to be a good family for him out there, but where to start looking? Maybe Mantle? No, he had just taken Marrow from that place. He was gonna have quite a bit of work ahead of him.

Finally the bed was set up, sheets and all, and Clover settled down for a well deserved rest.


	2. Sleepy Mornings and Shopping Sprees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover does his best to give Marrow a good morning in Atlas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 2! I hope you enjoy! It was a blast to write this with Daisy78173! They are super fun to work with and their editing helped make this chapter (and the previous chapter) amazing!

When Clover's alarm woke him in the morning he tried to ignore it for as long as he could. But alas, duty ever beckons. 

He got up and stretched with a yawn, wondering for a moment why he was on the pull out and not his bed. Then the previous day flooded back to him full force. The fight, the patrol, Marrow.

Marrow! 

He needed to check on Marrow!

Clover shot off the couch and all but ran to his quarters. He breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing the child sound asleep in his bed. He looked so cute all bundled up like that. Clover almost didn’t want to wake him up. It was still early, he could let the kid rest a little longer. Brothers know he needed it after the day he had.

After one more glance at the sleeping child he left to start breakfast. He was making pancakes! He wondered if Marrow had ever had pancakes. If the kid had never had macaroni and cheese, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he never had pancakes. 

Vine was the first to join him in the kitchen, quietly getting the coffee started. It was part of the routine the team shared. First Clover would wake, then Vine, they wouldn’t say a word till Elm got there. Then Harriet would show up and they would laugh at her bed head. It was a good routine, one that worked for them, one that had come about after years of living together. Today seemed like it would be no different. He and Vine quietly puttered about their tasks, neither saying a word and simply enjoying the quiet peace of the morning before the day began. 

“Good morning!” and there was Elm. Let the day begin.

“Good morning.” Clover and Vine said in unison, neither turning away from their morning tasks. 

Elm was as full of energy as usual, “Ah! It’s a beautiful day is it not? I can’t wait to see what today has in store!” 

“How you manage to have so much energy without coffee I will never understand.” Clover chuckled, shaking his head.

“It’s a gift.” Elm shrugged, playfully bumping Clovers hip as she passed.

“You really are a marvel.” Vine said, looking fondly at Elm.

“You know it stretch!” Elm grinned, throwing an arm around her partner.

Clover smiled at his teammates and flipped a pancake in the pan. He wanted to get a waffle iron, but he kept forgetting. Maybe he would get one later today when he took Marrow shopping. Speaking of which.

“Hey Elm?” Clover called over his shoulder at his playfully wrestling teammates.

“Yes Clover?” Elm grunts out as Vine attempts to escape her headlock.

“Do you have any leftover clothes from when your nieces and nephews last visited?” Clover asked, placing the pancake on the sizable stack he had created.

Elm hummed, releasing Vine from her hold, “Yes I think I have some stuff that Spruce and Birch left. Why?”

Clover turned the stove off and turned to face Elm, “Marrows gonna need something clean to wear when I take him shopping today. His old clothes are a bit...ratty.”

Elms eyes widened, “OH! Of course! I’ll go grab some things! I think Spruce’s things should fit him ok. It’s still gonna be pretty big though, that poor thing is all skin and bone. We’re gonna have to fatten him up!” 

“But,” Vine interrupted, “we mustn't feed him too quickly. It could lead to sickness or worse.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll be careful.” Clover nodded, worry turning in his stomach.

Elm seemed to pick up on his change in mood and placed a hand on his forearm, “Clover, it’s gonna be fine. You have us with you after all!”

Clover smiled and patted Elm’s hand, happy for the reassurance. Yeah things would be just fine, he had his team with him. They always had his back, he could rely on them. No matter what. 

Speaking of his team.

“Harriet! You're finally up!” Elm cried out, immediately scooping a sleepy Harriet into her arms. 

“Yup. I'm awake. Give me food.” the smaller woman grumbled, all but flopping at the table.

Clover chuckled and placed two steaming pancakes onto a plate, “Yeah yeah. Here you go grumpy.” 

Harriet grunted in way of a thank you before grabbing the syrup, pouring a far too generous amount on the food, and digging in. Elm was quick to follow, though she added even more syrup to her pancakes. Vine didn’t put nearly as much on his, he never was one for overly sweet things.

“I’m gonna get Marrow. I’ve got a busy day planned for him.” Clover called over his shoulder as he made his way over to his quarters.

Upon entering the space he wasn’t too surprised to find Marrow still sound asleep under the covers. He gently made his way over to the boy, careful not to make too much noise and startle the kid. 

“Marrow?” Clover whispered, gently rubbing up and down Marrow's arm, “It’s time to get up buddy. I made breakfast.”

Marrow's eyes slowly opened, blinking bearily at Clover.

“Morning buddy. How’d you sleep last night?” Clover asked, gently running his fingers through Marrow's hair.

“Good.” Marrow yawned, sitting up and stretching.

“That’s good, why don’t you go get ready and meet us in the kitchen. I made pancakes. They're really good.” Clover smiled, picking Marrow up and carrying him to the bathroom.

“M’kay.” Marrow mumbled, snuggling into the crook of Clovers neck.

“Come on buddy, don’t fall asleep on me. Hows about I help you tame that hair of yours, hmm?” Clover asked, lightly bouncing the young boy in his arms.

Marrows yawned and put his thumb in his mouth, nodding against Clovers shoulder. Clover chuckled and placed the boy in front of the mirror. Only to realize it was way too high for the short child. 

“Uh, give me a second. I’ll be right back.” Clover rushed out of the bathroom, grabbed a chair, and rushed back.

“Here you go buddy. Stand on this.” Clover smiled, helping the boy clamber up onto the chair.

Once Marrow was safely standing on the chair, Clover grabbed a brush and began gently running it through Marrows hair. Now that it was clean and not matted, Clover was able to get a proper look at it. Marrow's hair was still greenish black, but he could see it had a bit more green than he first thought. It was about shoulder length and seemed to naturally spike out, especially around the front. It was soft and thick, it reminded him of Elms hair from the few times she had asked Clover to help braid it.

“Hey Marrow, want me to braid your hair?” Clover asked as he brushed out a particularly nasty knot. 

“Mkay I nevr had it braided before.” Marrow replied, his tail wagging lazily in the air.

Clover gently smiled, “Well I’ll have you know, I am an excellent braider! Your hair is gonna look awesome. Trust me.”

Marrow smiled and continued to quietly suck his thumb. Maybe Clover should look into ways of stopping that, unless it was normal for kids his age to do this. He would have to ask Elm, she was the child expert of the team. Being both a middle child and an aunt. 

Marrow was about Spruces size, so hopefully the clothes would fit him. And hopefully he wouldn’t mind wearing a lot of floral. Spruce clearly had a...preference in her style. It was only for a day though, so it should be fine.

“Alright Marrow. Let’s get you braided up!” Clover grinned, grabbing a hair tie from the counter. He always carried a few for Elm or random soldiers and hunters that might need them. 

“Mmhmm.” Marrow yawned and nodded, clearly still half asleep. Poor kid, maybe Clover should have let him sleep a little longer.

Clover quickly separated the long hair into three pieces and fell into the old pattern of braiding. The two sat in silence for a time, only sounds of shifting hair and the occasional yawn from Marrow. 

“Alright kiddo. All done. What do you think?” Clover nodded, pleased with his work.

Marrow blinked at his reflection and swung his head side to side. He grinned at his reflection and turned to Clover with shining eyes.

“Thank you! I love it!” Marrow grinned, moving to hug Clover.

Clover was shocked still for a moment, but quickly gathered himself and hugged the child back. 

“Glad you like it. Now let’s get some breakfast!” Clover grinned, placing the boy on the ground and taking his hand. 

Upon entering the kitchen they were greeted by Elm stuffing as many pancakes into her mouth as possible, and Harriet doing the same. Vine was simply leaning on the counter and sipping his coffee. 

“Do I even want to know?” Clover asked his teammate.

“Harriet challenged Elm to an eating competition. Whoever eats the most pancakes wins.” Vine told his leader, not taking his eyes off the feeding frenzy before him.

“Ok then. Marrow lets get you some pancakes before these two eat them all.” Clover fondly sighed, shooting an apologetic smile at the boy. Marrow just gazed back at him tiredly, Clover was gonna have to get him down for a nap later. 

Clover quickly snatched two pancakes from the table and put them on a plate for Marrow.

“Here you go buddy. You can put some syrup on them if you like.” Clover said, pushing the syrup bottle closer to the boy.

“M’kay.” Marrow mumbled, taking the bottle and pouring a bit of syrup on it. Guess, he’s not a big fan of sweets. Well he and Vine would get along fine.

Marrow mostly picked at his food, only taking a few bites before he stopped. Well, maybe he just wasn’t used to eating a lot. Plus, Clover could always take him out later when they went to get his clothes. Speaking of which.

“Elm!” Clover called, grabbing the attention of his teammate who still had half a pancake hanging out of her mouth. “I need you to grab those clothes for me alright?”

Elm quickly slurped up the rest of her food, an action that would have once horrified Clover, before heading to her quarters. 

“Where's Miss.Elm going?” Marrow asked tiredly, still just picking at his food.

“She’s going to get you something to wear until we can get you new clothes.” Clover explained, “You and I are gonna do a little shopping today. How does that sound?” 

Marrow made a soft whining noise but nodded his head, “That sounds nice. But why?”

“Yeah why?” Harriets haughty voice spoke from the table, “Didn’t he already come in clothes?”

“Well,” Clover began, shooting Harriet a warning glare, “it’s because your old clothes are a little….gross. So I wanted to take you out to get some new ones. Can’t have you living in my shirt all the time.” he finished with a playful wink.

Marrow gave him a confused look, “But, you’re not takin care of me. You don’t have to do this. You won’t get in trouble if I don’t look ok.”

Clover's heart broke at those words, just how had this kid been treated his whole life? 

“I’m not doing this because I have too. I’m doing it because I want to.” Clover gently but firmly replied, locking eyes with Marrow.

“But you don’t even know me.” Marrow puzzled, tilting his head.

Clover put a hand on Marrow's shoulder, “I don’t have to know you to want to help you. You seem like a sweet kid, and I think you deserve some decent clothes. And a few toys while we’re out. Maybe We’ll go out for ice cream if you’re feeling up for it. What do you say?”

Marrow furrowed his brow but the way his tail wagged was an answer in itself, “Ok. I still don’t get it, but ok.”

“Good. Now I hope you don’t mind wearing girl clothes. They're the only kind we have that could maybe fit you.” Clover chuckled.

“That’s ok. I don’t mind.” Marrow smiled softly, tail still wagging away behind him.

“Sir, isn’t there anyone else who can do that? We need to be training and doing missions today. Not galavanting around with some brat.” Harriet scowled, glaring at the boy.

Clover put a comforting arm around Marrow, “He’s most comfortable with me, so it’s best if I go with him. Plus I wanted to get some shopping done today anyways. And Harriet, don’t refer to Marrow as a brat in mine or his vicinity ever again. Understood?” 

Harriet grumbled but backed down, just in time for Elm to return. A small bundle of clothes in hand.

“I didn’t know what you might like, so I just grabbed everything!” Elm grinned, plopping the garments down on the table.

“Thank you Miss.Elm” Marrow quietly said.

“No problem little pup! And call me Elm! Or Auntie Elm if you like!” she beamed and raised her hand, moving to pat Marrow’s head. She quickly retracted when he flinched away.

Marrow looked at her with trepidation, “Um, ok, Elm. Thank you. I’ll take good care of these. I promise.” 

Elm laughed heartily, “I’m sure you will! But even if they get a little banged up it’s not a problem! We can always clean them or sew them up! With how quickly Spruce is sprouting up it’ll be a wonder if she even still fits in these!” 

Clover laughed a bit and turned to Marrow, “How about you pick something out and get changed? We’ll be right here when you’re ready.” 

Marrow nodded and took a shirt and a skirt from the pile, darting to Clover’s quarters to change. As soon as he was gone Clover turned and glared at Harriet.

“You wanna tell me what all that was about?” he growled.

“What are you talking about?” Elm asked, looking between her captain and her teammate.

Vine answered for Clover, “She called Marrow a brat and questioned why he should be taking Marrow out instead of someone else.”

Elm gasped, “Harriet! You don’t say that kind of thing to a child! Especially not one who has already been through so much!”

“He’s just a distraction! He shouldn’t even be here!” Harriet argued, eyes shining with anger.

“He’s a child who needs our help! And I’m going to help him. So I had better not hear another word about this from you. Understood?” Clover commanded, glaring daggers at his teammate.

“But sir-” she began.

“I said, is that understood?” he interrupted, seething with rage at this point.

Harriet growled but stood down, “Understood sir.”

“Good. Now clean this mess up.” Clover ordered, though in a calmer tone.

“Fine.” Harriet scoffed, using her semblance to quickly clean the and put away the dishes. 

Soon enough Marrow was back out, now sporting a white t-shirt and pink and blue floral pattern ankle length skirt. It hid his tail pretty well, must have been why he picked it.

“Aww! Don’t you look adorable!” Elm gushed, clapping her hand together and grinning.

Marrow offered her a tired smile and swayed a little on his feet. Clovers brow furrowed in concern, Marrow must be really tired. Harriet grumbled and left the room shaking her head as she walked past Marrow.

“Hey kiddo.” Clover called, breaking Marrow from his tired stupor, “You ready to go to the store?”

Marrow rubbed his eye with a tiny fist and yawned, “Mmhmm.”

“Great! Elm, did the kids ever leave shoes behind?” Clover asked, turning back to his teammate.

Elm hummed thoughtfully, “Let me check, I’ll look for some socks too.”

“Thank you.” he nodded, picking up Marrow and bringing him to the couch, “Let’s watch a bit of tv till she gets back, yeah?”

Marrow nodded, and after looking a bit dubiously at Clover, leaned into his side. Clover turned surprised eyes to the child at his side. But it quickly turned to a fond smile, and he carefully placed an arm around the boy. 

Eventually Elm came out with a little blue pair of socks and some purple sneakers. 

“I found these in the closet! They should work till you can get something better fitting.” Elm said, gently stooping down to help Marrow get the socks and shoes on. He let her to Clover's surprise, he must be really tired. Maybe the store was a bad idea right now.

“Hey buddy, are you sure you want to go? It’s alright if you’re not feeling up for it.” Clover asked, lightly jostling the child at his side. The kid seemed warm, maybe he needed more heat after his time spent on the streets. He hoped that would fix itself when Clover found him a good home.

Marrow nodded and offered Clover a groggy smile, “Yeah I’m ok.” 

Clover was skeptical but he didn’t want to press it. Marrow could nap on the way to the store anyways. 

“Alright. Let’s get going then.” Clover said, picking up Marrow and setting the boy on his hip. “I’ll be back later everyone. Don’t wait up for us!”

Elm gave them a cheery goodbye and Vine simply lifted his mug and nodded at them. As they walked through the school Clover called a cab to meet them outside. They made a quick stop to James office to drop off his report. Since the General wasn’t there it was a quick in and out. 

In the cab Marrow took to snoozing on Clovers lap in the backseat while Clover chatted idly with the driver. They reached their destination fairly quickly and Clover stepped out, paid the driver, and took off on their day of shopping. 

The mall was decently busy for the morning, but it was empty enough that Clover wasn’t worried about Marrow getting overwhelmed. The first stop was the clothing store. 

“Marrow, you ready to do some super shopping?” Clover grinned, gently shaking Marrow's foot.

The boy sleepily nodded against Clover's shoulder. Clover furrowed his brow but didn’t say anything. Walking into the store Clover quickly found an employee, a young girl with long black hair.

“Excuse me, miss? Where are your children's clothes?” Clover asked the girl.

“Oh! Right this way sir!” she cheerily replied, leading them to their destination. 

Clover smiled at the girl, “Thank you ma’am. Have a nice day.”

“You too sir! Bye bye little guy!” she chirped, offering a little wave to Marrow who hid his face in Clover's shoulder.

“Alright little buddy. What do you think of this one?” Clover asked, holding up a blue t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on the front.

Marrow mumbled out a weak, “It’s nice.”

“Come one little guy. You gotta wake up for me ok?” Clover pressed, placing Marrow on the ground, “Think you can walk on your own?”

Marrow nodded though he seemed a little shaky. Clover choked it up to having been held for so long.

“Alright, here hold my hand. Don’t want you getting lost.” Clover smiled uneasily.

Clover tried to get them out of the store as quickly as possible. Marrow seemed really out of it and he wanted to get him back home for more rest. Maybe bringing him out here was a bad idea. Maybe he should have waited another day or so. Just to let Marrow relax and calm down a bit after his harrowing experience. This was too soon, maybe he would just get him a few outfits and a toy and leave. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. 

Clover walked slow, he didn’t want Marrow tripping or falling behind. They walked through the racks, picking out clothes that Marrow seemed to like, and looked small enough to fit him. They would go to the fitting room and repeat the process until they had a fair amount of clothes, a few pairs of shoes, socks, and underwear. Clover was glad to be done with it. Just one more thing and they could get home. By the way Marrow was panting it seemed he really needed to. Poor kid, Clover should have known he was too weak to go out for long periods of time like this.

“Hey buddy, you wanna just head home after we get these things?” Clover asked the child at his side. Wow, Marrow's palms were sweaty. 

Marrow just nodded, a miserable look on his face. Yeah, toys could wait. This kid needed to get home. And soon.

“Alright. Just hold tight for a little longer.” Clover reassured, gently squeezing Marrow's hand.

Marrow offered a weak smile before his eyes seemed to lock onto something. Clover noticed his tail start to wag from under the skirt and turned to look at what had caught the boy's eye. When he turned, he was greeted by a baby blue dinosaur plush, one of those ones with the long necks. It had little stitched black eyes and a pale yellow underneath.

Turning back to Marrow he smiled, “You like that dinosaur?”

Marrow nodded looking a bit sheepish. Well, guess toys weren’t completely off the menu.

“Well alrighty then.” Clover grinned, quickly grabbing the plush and handing it to a shocked Marrow.

“I-you’re-you’re giving this to me?” he asked, the disbelief palpable in his voice.

“Yup. Every kid deserves a dinosaur after all.” Clover shot a playful wink at a smiling Marrow.

“Thank you Clover.” he said softly, his tail wagging happily.

Soon they reached the check out, Marrow placed his new friend on the counter and Clover put his new clothes next to it. The attendant rang them up and they were on their way out. 

“That wasn’t so bad right Marrow?” Clover tried to smile at the boy, who looked far more ragged than he had coming in.

Marrow was swaying on his feet, his breathing coming out in puffs. His steps looked as though he was carrying weight around his ankles and there was clear sheen of sweat on his brow that Clover hadn’t caught before.

“Marrow? You feeling ok buddy?” Clover asked, concerned and quickly kneeling down to the boy.

Just in time it seemed, as Marrow suddenly pitched forward unconscious into Clovers arms.

“MARROW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MUAHAHAHAHAHA!! (hope you enjoyed lol)


	3. Sick Days and Movie Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After rushing Marrow to the hospital, Clover starts to wonder how qualified he really is for taking care of this child. Elm quickly tells him otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 3! Daisy78173 and I had a blast writing this! And we both hope you have a blast reading it!

Everything happened quickly after that. Rushing Marrow to the hospital, getting him checked in, talking to the doctors. Now he was just waiting, pacing the length of the waiting room. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Over and over, his body simply moving without purpose. His mind a haze of panic and worry for his small charge. He had only had the boy for a day. 

How could he let this happen? How was he already messing this up so bad? Would Marrow be ok? Was he going to make it? What was he going to do? What could he do? Brothers he had never felt more useless. He should have known! All the signs were right there! Tiredness, picking at his food, being too warm when Clover held him. A million and one different signs and Clover hadn’t noticed one! Brothers what had he done?

“Clover!” a familiar voice called to him from the doorway.

“Elm?” Clover turned, surprised to see her here. Did someone she knew get hurt? Why was she here?

“I got your call! Is he ok? Are you ok?” Elm pressed, reaching Clover and holding his shoulders in a tight grip.

“Call?” Clover asked, his frazzled mind unable to remember placing a call.

“Yes! You called me saying you were going to the hospital! That Marrow collapsed! What happened?” Elm fretted, shaking Clover a bit.

Clover removed himself from her grip and took a deep breath, “He’s sick. I-I didn’t notice. He just collapsed outside the store. I brought him here.” Clover fell into one the seats nearby and buried his face in his hands. “Brothers Elm. I’ve only had the kid a day! Barely that even! And I’ve already failed at caring for him!”

He felt more than saw Elm sit next to him. There was a moment before she gently placed a hand on his back, awkwardly patting it.

“Sir, you probably saved his life. Who knows how bad this could have been had you not found him yesterday?” Her voice was oddly soft. It was a tone he hadn’t heard before. 

“Elm, I’m supposed to be taking care of him! How is this taking care of him?” Clover argued.

“You brought him into your home. You made him breakfast and bought him new clothes. You took him to the hospital when he was sick. If that isn’t taking care of someone then I don’t know what is!” she pressed. Her voice holding a certainty that almost made Clover want to believe her.

“Elm-” he began.

“Sir, with all do respect, he was most likely already sick before you found him. You can’t blame yourself for this.” she interrupted.

“But-” he tried.

“Sir, again with all due respect, please shut up. I respect you a great deal, but I think I know a little more about caring for children than you do.” she offered him a small smile, “Besides, you’re still new to this sort of task. Things are bound to go wrong. That’s why you call me, or Vine, hell maybe even the General! You don’t have to do this alone.”

Clover looked at her, shocked, “I-I, heh, thank you, Elm. I think I needed to hear that.”

“Anytime sir!” she chirped, her usual grin planted on her face.

“Clover.” he chuckled.

Elm turned to him surprised “What?”

“Call me Clover. I think you’ve earned the right at this point,” he smiled.

Elm was about to respond but was cut off by a new voice calling, “Clover Ebi?”

Clover shot up like a bullet, “Yes, that’s me. Is he ok? What is it?”

“Calm down Mr.Ebi, he is fine. He had a bit of a fever that when mixed with his malnutrition culminated in his fainting spell. But he’ll be just fine. You’ll need to speak to our nutritionist to get a plan for just how to manage this since he may need to take nutritional supplements.” the nurse explained calmly.

Clover felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Marrow was going to be ok. He was gonna be just fine. Thank the Brothers.

Elm spoke in place of him, “Thank you ma’am. Could we possibly go see him?”

“Of course. Right this way.” she gestured for them to follow.

Clover just felt numb, but in a good way. Marrow was ok. It was gonna be alright. Clover felt himself laugh a bit. The sheer relief of knowing the kid was gonna be ok was enough for him.

“Wait a moment.” he said, suddenly remembering a special parcel he had left in the waiting room. “Elm could you run back to the waiting room? I left a toy that I got for Marrow in there. It's a dinosaur, light blue. It should still be on the chair in a bag.”

“No problem si- uh, Clover! I’ll be right back!” she gave him a thumbs up as she jogged back to the waiting room.

He gave her a grateful smile as she left. Thank goodness for Elm Ederne.

“He’s right through this door then through the first curtain on your right.” the nurse smiled, gesturing at the door, “Careful though, he’s still pretty out of it.”

“Understood. Thank you ma’am.” Clover nodded at her before opening the door and walking through the curtain to Marrow.

The sight that greeted him wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. He was expecting tubes everywhere and Marrow barely clinging to consciousness. Instead what he got was Marrow with a few bandages on his arms looking far more rested and healthy than he had coming in.

“Marrow.” he breathed, relief flooding through him once more. “Thank goodness you’re ok. You gave me one heck of a scare bud.”

Marrow didn’t look directly at Clover, opting instead to fiddle with the hospital blanket. “I’m sorry.” he mumbled guiltily. 

“What for? You didn’t do anything wrong.” Clover tried to reassure the child, moving to gently squeeze his leg. Though he quickly retracted his arm when Marrow flinched.

“I made you worry. And I made you run all the way here. I’m sorry I fell down. I didn’t mean to.” tears began gathering in the boys eyes as sobs wracked his body. “I’m sorry. I-I really didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

“Marrow… Marrow, kiddo, no. No this wasn’t your fault. You don’t need to apologize. If anything It’s my fault. I should have noticed you weren’t feeling good. I’m sorry for making you go out today. I’ll do better in the future.” Clover soothed, wanting nothing more than to pull the boy into a big hug. But he felt that would only worsen the situation.

“B-b-but I-I-I m-made you wo-worry and I made you r-run all the w-way here!” he sobbed, fat tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Oh kiddo… Listen. This wasn’t your fault. Yeah I was worried, but as the person who’s taking care of you it’s my job to worry. I’m not mad at you or upset with you ok? But from now on, I need you to tell me when you aren’t feeling good, ok?” Clover said, offering his hand to Marrow.

Marrow looked at the offered hand for a long moment before cautiously taking it. Clover smiled at him and rubbed the back of Marrow's hand with his thumb. Marrow's hand was so tiny in Clovers. So much trust put into him by the young boy, all conveyed by such a simple gesture. He was going to live up to that trust. He had to. For Marrow’s sake.

“Hello little pup. How are you feeling?” Elms voice asked gently from behind Clover.

“Hi Elm, I feel a lot better.” Marrow gave her a small smile, though he was still sniffling a bit.

“That’s good to hear. But what’s this? Are those… Tears I see? Have you been crying?” Elm asked, a hand pressed dramatically to her chest.

Marrow returned to fiddling with the blanket, “Um, only a little. But I’m ok now.” 

“Well this just won’t do. I’ll just have to cheer you up proper!” Elm grinned, pulling the dinosaur toy out from behind her back. “I think your little friend agrees.”

Marrow gasped at the sight of his toy, his face lighting up brighter than the sun. Clover chuckled as Elm handed the toy to Marrow, who, after only a moment's hesitation, took the toy from her and cuddled it to his chest. Clover had to bite back the “aww” that threatened to leave his mouth at the sight. Where was his scroll when he needed it? This was a precious moment!

“You got a name for him Marrow?” Clover asked.

Marrow seemed to pause at his words, looking at him in confusion and then cautious excitement. “You really meant it? When you said I could keep him?” he asked, disbelief etching its way into his words.

Clover's heart shattered for the hundredth time since meeting this boy. He couldn’t even believe that a toy that was bought specifically for him was his? Well he was gonna get to keep this one. Or his name wasn’t Clover Ebi!

“Yeah, I meant it. He’s all yours little buddy.” Clover reassured, gesturing to the dinosaur, “So you get to name him whatever you like.”

Marrow grinned at him and Clover could hear his tail thumping against the bed under the covers. “Ok, um, maybe...Noodle? Cause he’s got a long neck.”

And just like that Clovers shattered heart was repaired by this precious cinnamon roll of a child. “Yeah. Noodle is an amazing name buddy.” Clover beamed.

Soon the three were simply chatting away, though it was primarily Elm and Clover doing the talking. Marrow was mostly playing with his new best friend. 

“I’m just saying, puppies will always be cuter than kittens. It’s just a fact of life.” Clover reasoned.

“I’m not disagreeing that puppies are adorable, but they just don’t have that tiny feral baby charm that kittens have.” Elm countered. 

“But puppies-” Clover was cut off by the doctor entering the room.

“Mr.Ebi, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” the doctor said, casting a knowing look between Clover and Elm.

Clover laughed, “No no, just a little debate between friends.”

“Good to know. I brought the paperwork to have Marrow discharged. You will simply need to sign these, make an appointment at the front desk to see the nutritionist, and you’ll be good to go. If you have any questions feel free to ask at the front desk or to call us.” the doctor smiled, handing a clipboard to Clover. “Simply sign here, here and here. Initial there and there. And print here. Then date down there and you’re all set.” 

Clover did as he was told and handed the clipboard back to the doctor. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.”

The doctor chuckled, “It’s no trouble at all. Now make sure he gets plenty of rest and drinks plenty of fluids. Regular meals as well. At least until you see the nutritionist and get a proper diet plan going.”

Clover shook the doctors hand, “Thank you so much sir.”

“Not a problem at all! You folks have a good day!” he chuckled as he left the room.

Soon they were on their way out. With the paperwork filled and the appointment made, they were now in a cab on their way home. Marrow was sleeping soundly on Clovers lap. Clover felt his chest warm at the sight. He smiled and went to brush a stray hair from the boy's face, but paused part way through.

What was he doing? All of this for a kid he didn’t even know. Sure he was a huntsman, and it was literally his job to help people, but wasn’t this a little much? He had only had the kid a day and he already felt so…. attached to him. What was he doing? He still had to find a home for the kid, but just the thought of giving up this sweet boy to relative strangers just turned his stomach. Was he getting in too deep? Was he getting too attached to the kid? Was he going to be able to give him up when the time came? Did he even want to? All these questions and more plagued Clover’s mind through their journey back home. He had not come to a conclusion by the time they walked through the door. What was he going to do? 

“We’re back!” Elm called excitedly when they walked through the door.

“Ah. Good. Is Marrow alright?” Vine greeted them from the common room.

“Yeah, little guys fine. A bit of a fever and malnutrition kinda kicked his butt but with time and a proper diet, he’ll be right as rain. Right buddy?” Clover said, lightly jostling the boy in his arms.

Marrow offered a small smile and nodded, snuggling closer to Clover. This kid was making it very difficult to not get too attached to him. He was just too cute!

“You wanna introduce your new friend to the others?” Clover asked, setting Marrow down.

Marrows shifted his feet a little but nodded.

Clover took his hand and led him to where Vine and Harriet were sitting, “Alright Marrow, go ahead.”

“Um, I-” Marrow was cut off by Harriet scoffing.

She began making her way out to the door.

“And just where are you going?” Clover asked.

“To do something better with my time.” she shot back, walking quickly out of their shared quarters, slamming the door as she went.

“Well that was rude!” Elm said upon Harriet's exit.

“I’ll make sure to talk to her about it later.” Clover sighed turning to Marrow. Poor thing was shaking, his tail was curled around his leg and he was clutching Noodle for dear life.

“Hey, hey buddy. It’s alright. It’s ok.” Clover gently soothed, kneeling down to Marrow's level, “She’s just a grump.” 

Marrow looked at him with tearful eyes, “Did I-did I do something wrong?”

Clovers felt awful for the kid, how many times had he been blamed for things that weren’t his fault? “Oh, no. No kiddo. You didn’t do anything wrong. She’s just being a baby. You’re fine.”

“Yeah!” Elm chimed in, “She’s just mad that she’s not the de facto cutest anymore.”

This got a little giggle from Marrow, something that filled Clover with an odd sense of warmth. Thank goodness for Elm Ederne.

“You wanna introduce your friend to Vine? He’s not a big baby like Harriet.” Clover encouraged, gesturing for Marrow to step forward.

Marrow tentatively showed Vine his new toy, “This is Noodle. I called him that, cause he has a long neck.”

Vine offered the boy a small smile, “That is a wonderful name. You picked well.”

Marrow smiled a bit in return, his tail wagging slightly. The sight made Clover smile.

“Clover got him for me.” Marrow said, his voice holding a tinge of excitement.

“Did he? Well that was very nice of him.” Vine said, a hint of something almost playful in his voice. That was certainly new. He didn't know Vine even knew what playful was.

“Yeah.” Marrow said, a smile on his face as he hugged his toy.

“Alright buddy. How about you get cleaned up while I make some dinner?” Clover prompted the young faunus.

Marrow nodded and dashed off towards Clover’s quarters. Once he out of sight Clover all but sagged in on himself, falling onto the couch next to Vine. He sighed and put an arm over his eyes.

“Are you alright?” Elm asked, perching herself on the couch's arm.

“Been a long day. I never want to see that kid in the hospital again.” he said, dragging a hand down his face. 

“I’m sure all will be well.” Vine said, sure that his captain’s worries were completely unfounded.

“Yeah! After all, once you find him his new home you won’t really have to see him at all!” Elm enthusiastically called, playfully punching Clover's shoulder.

Clover awkwardly chuckled, unsure if he should voice his thoughts to his teammates. 

“Yeah. Of course.” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck “Welp. I should go get dinner started. Either of you wanna help?”

“Yes!” Elm cried, throwing her hands in the air.

“Very well.” Vine agreed, getting up from the couch. 

Soon the three of them were huddled in the kitchen, chatting and cooking dinner. It was the light scraping of a chair that drew Clovers attention. There sat Marrow dressed in the shirt he had slept in the night before, Noddle still clutched in his arms.

“Hey buddy. Feeling better?” Clover asked, drying his hands on a towel before going over to the child. Clover went to place his hand on Marrow’s forehead, but drew back when Marrow flinched.

“Hey, hey. I’m not gonna hurt you. I just want to check to make sure you’re not too hot, okay?” Clover gently coaxed, giving him a gentle smile. 

Marrow gave him a worried look but nodded and closed his eyes. Clover gently placed the back of his hand on Marrow’s head. The child twitched at the touch but seemed to relax when Clover didn’t do more. The boy felt warm, but not too warm, so Clover wasn’t too worried. He would watch Marrow closely though. 

“Sorry, kiddo.” Clover sighed with a shake of his head, “But it looks like you’re gonna make it.” 

Marrow gave Clover a little giggle, his tail starting to wag slightly. Clover couldn’t stop the small smile that worked its way onto his face. 

“You hungry little pup?” Elm called over to the pair.

“Umm, I guess.” Marrow said quietly, looking to his swinging feet rather than Elm.

“Great! Do you like steak and potatoes?” Elm said, not at all put off by Marrow's shy response.

Marrow shrugged and hugged Noddle a little close to his chest. Clover offered a smile to the young faunus. 

“Vine makes some of the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever had. And my steak isn’t half bad either. You’ll like it, I promise.” Clover reassured the young faunus.

“Ok.” he mumbled.

“How’s about after dinner we all watch a movie?” Clover suggested, before mumbling, “I’m pretty sure we have a few kid friendly ones.”

“Yes! We can watch The Tiny Sea Maiden, or The Pirate Bride!” Elm cheered.

Clover looked at her surprised, “I didn’t know we had those movies.”

Elm waved a dismissive hand in the air, “I keep them around for when Spruce and Birch visit.”

“I’ve never seen those movies before.” Marrow chimed in.

“Well that just won’t do!” Elm gasped, “Vine get the popcorn! We have a whole new world to show this child!”

“Maybe we should wait until after dinner for that.” Vine gently coaxed his over eager partner.

Clover chuckled at his teammates and shook his head, “What do you say Marrow? You wanna watch some movies?”

Marrow nodded and offered a small smile to Clover, “I haven’t watched a lot of movies.” 

“Well that’s gonna change if Elm has anything to say about it.” Clover grinned, “That steak should be done by now. So how’s about we get started?” 

From there everything went rather quickly. It was a nice meal that Harriet showed up to part way through just to grab something from the fridge and retreat to her room. Then they washed up with Clover helping Marrow once again and got into their pajamas. Now they were sitting in the common room in front of the tv. Vine was on the floor, Elm sat in the recliner, and Marrow was next to Clover on the couch. They had picked Bumbi, a movie that Clover himself had never seen. But it had a cute little reindeer on the front and said it was a fun romp for the whole family so it should be fun.

Clover had never been so wrong.

It had started fine. Little baby animals, cute scenery, fluffy bunnies. It was great! Then it all went down hill. Suddenly the scenery changed, the colors were harsher, and as Bumbi’s mother told him to run he felt Marrow press himself closer to his side. A shot rang out and Clover gasped, putting an arm around a now shaking Marrow. Clover glanced at Elm to find her looking equally shocked and horrified. They locked eyes and he mouthed “What the fuck?” she shrugged, turning back to the movie. 

Soon the movie ended, though Clover was still rather shocked over the whole thing. Killing the mother? That whole forest fire scene? How on earth was that a children's movie? Well at least Marrow was able to fall asleep easily enough. Maybe it wasn’t too bad if he could handle it. 

Clover woke later that night to sniffling. Rubbing his eyes he scanned the common room, searching for the source of the noise. His gaze fell upon the hallway that led to his room and his heart stopped in his chest. Throwing the covers off himself, he rushed to his room and stopped at the door. He could hear the sniffling clearer now. He deftly opened the door and saw a little blob of darkness huddled and shaking on his bed. He stepped through the threshold and flipped on the light. 

“Marrow? Is everything alright?” Clover sleepily asked.

Marrow turned to him with a tearstained face, “I-I’m s-sorry. I didn’t m-mean to w-wake you up.”

“Hey, it’s alright buddy.” Clover soothed, sitting down at the edge of the bed, “Why are you crying? Do you wanna talk about it?”

Marrow sniffled, looked at Clover and proceeded to burst into tears, “I’m sorry! I-I’m sorry!”

Clover was left stunned but only for a moment before he was kneeling in front of the crying boy. He wasn’t exactly used to this, to comforting children like this. But he would be damned if he didn’t try.

“Marrow! Kiddo! Hey, hey. It’s alright. It’s ok.” Clover soothed, putting a tentative hand on Marrow's knee.

“B-but I w-woke you up! And-and you had to bring me t-to the doctor! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t-I didn’t mean t-to!” Marrow sobbed, clutching Noodle and scrubbing at his eyes.

“It’s ok Marrow. I’m not mad, I promise, it’s alright. I did all that because I wanted to! And I’d do it again.” Clover said, fighting to keep his own emotions in check.

Marrow continued to sob and Clover did the only thing he could think to and pulled the boy into a hug. Marrow sobbed and cried into his shoulder as Clover rubbed up and down his back muttering soothing words to him as he cried. Soon enough Marrow's tears began to slow and his sobs subsided and Clover pulled away.

“Better?” he asked, brushing a few stray tears from the boy's eyes.

“Mmhmm.” Marrow nodded, wrapping one arm around Noodle while he sucked his thumb, and buried his nose into the toy's plush head. 

“Ok. You wanna talk about what happened?” Clover asked, now sitting next to the child and rubbing up and down his back.

“Had a bad dream.” he mumbled, leaning into Clover's side.

Clover looked down at him, brows furrowed in concern, “What was it about buddy?”

“My momma. She told me to run, like Bumbi’s mom did.” Marrow said. Making quite a few things click into place for Clover.

“Oh buddy. I’m so sorry. We shouldn’t have put that movie on. I’m sorry about your momma. But I promise, I’m gonna take care of you now ok?” Clover said, lightly jostling the young faunus.

Marrow offered Clover the tiniest of smiles and Clover squeezed Marrow a little closer to his side.

“Alright buddy. It’s time for bed now.” Clover said, gently picking the boy up and placing his back down under the covers. “Sleep sweet ok?”

As Clover moved to leave the room he was stopped by a tiny, “Wait!”

Turning around he was Marrow hugging Noodle and looking at him with pleading eyes, “Please don’t go. I don’t want the bad dreams to come back.”

Clover was torn, on one hand he couldn’t just leave the poor kid alone. But on the other hand, was it really ok for him to stay with the boy? His internal debate was cut short by Marrows whimper. 

“Alright. I’ll stay. Just try not to hog the covers alright?” he joked, slipping into bed next to his young charge.

Marrow let out the tiniest of giggles but snuggled right up to Clover, falling asleep rather quickly all things considered. Clover on the other hand was trapped in his own thoughts. Chief among them being.

“You’re getting in too deep Ebi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you liked this chapter! If you did please leave a comment below and let us know what you liked! Thank you and have a lovely day!


	4. Playful Times and Sweet Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A simple training routine leads to some startling revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome welcome! One and all! Welcome to chapter 4! Take a seat! Grab some popcorn! And enjoy this new part in Puppies and Good-Luck Charms!

A week had passed since Marrow’s hospital visit. In that time the child had managed to worm his way even further into Clover’s heart. The same was true for Elm and Vine. Harriet seemed to be doing her best to ignore Marrow’s existence but the others didn’t pay her any mind. They simply did their best to assure Marrow that he didn’t do anything wrong. Though her constant badgering of Clover to train and go on missions was starting to grate on his nerves.

“You’ve been slacking! Seriously that kid has been taking up way too much of your time! When was the last time you took a mission?” Today was another day of Harriet’s badgering, and frankly, Clover was sick of it.

“Fine! I’ll go train while you guys go on your missions today alright?” Clover finally broke, his annoyance seeping into his voice.

“Fine. Good.” she conceded, backing down. “But you seriously need to straighten out your priorities sir.”

Clover sighed, “Will do Harriet. Now, I think you need to get to your mission operative.”

“Yes sir.” she saluted, walking down the hall towards her transport.

Clover scrubbed a hand over his face. He knew her heart was in the right place; he knew that. But when she got started on a mission she would see it through to the end. Right now it seems her mission was to either annoy Clover to death and take his place as leader of the Ace Ops or help him be a better huntsman. He knew which was the truth but still. As he walked back to the Ace Ops shared quarters his thoughts wandered, going back to the place that they seem to have been stuck in for the past week.

Marrow. The young faunus boy who had carved a place deep into Clover’s heart. It had happened far too quickly for Clover to stop it. He knew he had been stalling in finding the boy a new home, procrastinating so that he wouldn’t have to give him up. Could he even give him up? Could he really take this child he had grown to love so dearly and just dump him on a doorstep then walk away? He seriously doubted it.

“Marrow? I’m back!” Clover called upon entering the common room.

“Clover!” Marrow cried, bounding over to Clover, who scooped the boy into his arms and gave him a hug.

“Did you have fun while I was gone?” he asked.

“Yeah! You wanna see the drawing I made?” Marrow had really started to bloom while living with him. Sure he was only this comfortable around him, but he was really warming up to Elm and Vine. 

“Of course I do!” Clover grinned, putting Marrow back on the ground and letting the child lead him to the coffee table in front of the tv. 

“Look! That’s you,” he pointed to a stick figure with brown spiked up hair, “and that’s me!” he pointed to a much smaller stick figure with longer black hair and a tail.

“You made this? It’s so good! This is going right on the fridge!” Clover approved, grabbing the drawing and walking over to the fridge, “You wanna do the honors?”

Marrow's tail was wagging excitedly as he nodded vigorously. Clover gently lifted Marrow to a blank space on the fridge where the child carefully took a magnet and used it to place the picture on the space. His tail didn’t stop wagging as he looked proudly at his art. 

“Say Marrow? Do you wanna go train with me today?” Clover smiled.

Marrow looked at him excitedly, before a look of trepidation crossed his features. “Is it really ok for me to be there? I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“I promise, it’s alright. You don’t need to worry. Besides, how could I get in trouble with a cutie pie like you with me?” Clover said, playfully pinching Marrow's cheek, making the young faunus giggle.

“You promise it’s ok?” Marrow asked, a hard look that only a child could give on his face.

“I promise. Now go get your shoes on. You can bring Noodle if you like!” Clover grinned.

Marrow beamed back at him and ran off to grab his things. Clover chuckled and stood up from the kitchen floor. This would be fun! Marrow hadn’t been able to leave the Ace Ops quarters much, only leaving to join Clover on some shopping or that visit to the nutritionist the other day. It was mostly for his own safety. He was such a tiny kid and being a faunus in Atlas wasn’t exactly a great thing to be, so Clover had been spending a lot of time with Marrow, not that he was complaining. 

“I’m ready!” Marrow cried, running out of Clover's room in his sneakers with his little dinosaur plush tucked under his arm. 

“Alright! Let’s get going!” Clover cheered, taking Marrow's hand in his and walking out the door. 

Once they made their way out of the tower holding the Ace Ops they made the journey across the courtyard and into the school. Clover noticed the stares and whispered words but tried to distract Marrow from them by pointing out things around campus, the library, the clubrooms, the dorms, the classrooms. All of which Marrow took in with wide eyes and a wagging tail. Soon they had reached the training rooms and Clover took an empty one by the back, inputting his information and walking through the door with Marrow in his arms (he had picked the boy up sometime around the clubrooms, his legs were just too little to keep up with Clover's longer strides).

“Here we are. Are you ready to see some sweet moves?” Clover said, placing Marrow on the ground.

“Yeah! What are you gonna do?” Marrow asked, eyes shining. 

Clover chuckled, “First some warm up stretches, then I get into the cool stuff.” 

Marrow watched with rapt attention as Clover went through his usual stretching routine and began his solo training. Usually he would train with a partner, but he somehow doubted that Marrow could keep up with him. So he went through the form, kicks, punches, blocks, and acting as though he was fighting an enemy only he could see. As he punched another invisible Grimm into dust he glanced over at Marrow who seemed to be… copying him. Oh Brothers. Clover was damn lucky he didn’t die by cute overload at that second.

“Hey buddy, whatcha doin?” Clover asked, going over to the boy.

“I’m trying to do what you’re doing! It’s super cool!” Marrow said, his tail wagging furiously.

“Well, you won’t be able do much with that form. Here let me show you.” Clover knelt next to Marrow and showed him. 

“You want to start with the fist, make sure your thumb is over the other fingers not under. You’ll hurt your thumb if you punch something and it's under, got it?” Clover explained showing Marrow his own fist.

“Got it.” Marrow made a fist.

“Good just like that, now keep your wrist aligned with your arm, you want the fist to be straight like this.” Clover held his arm out to show Marrow.

Marrow nodded and copied Clover’s form perfectly.

“Great!” Clover praised, “Now, tuck in your chin and bring your fists in front of your face. Keep them at the same level as your cheeks, and keep your elbows slightly bent.” 

Marrow studied how Clover was holding himself and copied him.

“A little higher buddy, here like this.” Clover moved Marrow's arms a little higher, but in doing so he brushed Marrow's side. Marrow giggled and wiggled away from the touch, something Clover noticed but didn’t say anything about. Yet.

“Just like that, next keep your knees slightly bent and… Marrow, which leg is the one you put the most weight on?” Clover asked.

“Umm, this one.” he said, pointing to his right leg.

“Ok, you want that leg behind you and don’t face them straight on. Keep your body turned a bit like me ok?” Clover said, keeping his body at a 30 degree angle.

“Right!” Marrow nodded, doing the same.

“Good. Now when you go to punch something or someone imagine a spot away from them. This way you don’t pull your punch. Then you should pivot your back foot like me, and as you bring your arm forward squeeze your hand before you hit them. You want more of your knuckles to hit them rather than your fingers.” Clover said, showing Marrow what he meant as he went. “After you land the punch, snap your fist and shoulder back into the defence stance with your elbows up. Got it?”

Marrow nodded and threw the punch, snapping his shoulder and arm back near perfectly.

“Hey! That’s great! Awesome job buddy! High five!” Clover congratulated, holding his palm up for a high five.

Marrow grinned and quickly smacked his hand against Clovers, “Was it really good?”

“Yeah, but let’s do it a few more times. Practice makes perfect after all.” Clover chuckled, ruffling Marrow’s hair.

They went through the motions a few more times, and Marrow seemed to take to it like a fish to water. He had the form down pat after only a few swings. It brought a surge of pride through Clover that left him feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.

“Hold it right there.” Clover said, pausing Marrow after he swung but before he snapped back. His form was perfect, but Clover had something else in mind. “It’s good, but you're a little off here.” he poked Marrow's side, gaining a giggle from the boy.

“And here.” poking his belly, to another giggle.

“And right here!” tickling up and down the boys sides, make him explode in sudden ticklish laughter.

“NOHOHO! HAHAHA! CLOVER! HAHAHA! STAHAP IT!” Marrow laughed, wiggling in Clovers grip.

Clover gave an evil laugh as he tickled Marrow to pieces, “Never! The tickle monsters got you now! And he’s never letting you go muahahahaha!”

Marrow squealed and wriggled in Clovers arms trying to escape his ticklish prison, “NOHO! HEHEHE! CLOVER! HAHAHA!”

“There is no Clover! Only the tickle monster!” he cried out before blowing a big raspberry into Marrow's belly, making the poor boy scream with laughter.

“AHAHAHAHA! NAHAHA! NOHO! DADDY STAHAP IT!” Marrow cried, his tail wagging up a small breeze.

Just like that Clover's world came to a screeching halt. Did he just? No he-he didn’t. Did he? Did Marrow really just?

Marrow seemed to realize the same thing, a look of terror passing over his face. “I-I-I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry! It-it was an accident! I swear! I’m so-” 

Marrow's apologizes were cut off by Clover suddenly pulling him into a tight hug. His world had restarted, and that one word seemed to put everything into place. All Clover’s doubts and worries washed away at that one word. He knew what he had to do. 

“I would love to be your daddy. I would love that more than anything else in the world.” he said. It was currently taking everything Clover had not to cry as he held Marrow tight to his chest. The excitement in his voice was only slightly subdued by the shock that was still lingering. 

Marrow was stunned silent for a moment as tears began forming in his eyes, “Y-you mean it? You really mean it?”

Clover let out a sobbing laugh, “Yeah buddy. I really really mean it.”

Marrow let out a laugh of his own and hugged Clover tight, “Can I call you daddy?” 

“You can call me whatever you like kiddo!” Clover said, his fight with the pressure building in his eyes was quickly being lost.

Marrow sniffled and laughed into Clovers shirt as Clover finally let a few tears fall from his eyes.  
They sat there on the training room floor, just hugging each other and crying happy tears. Clover soon, in a rush of joy, picked Marrow up and began spinning him around the training room, eliciting laughter and giggles from Marrow's lips. Eventually Clover lost his balance and the pair tumbled to the ground, Marrow giggling on Clovers chest and Clover laughing on the floor.

A lot was going to change, Clover knew that. He wasn’t ready, not by any stretch of the word, but he was willing to try. Brothers above he was willing to do anything for this kid. 

“Alright, I think that’s enough training for today. And you look like you're ready for a nap. So let’s head back, yeah?” Clover grinned, sitting up and sending Marrow tumbling into his lap.

Marrow giggled and nodded, “Ok Clo- I mean daddy.” 

Clover felt a warmth bloom in his chest at the simple correction, a wide grin forming on his face. He lifted the young fanus into his arms and began the trek back to his quarters. Halfway there Marrow fell asleep in Clover's arms. As the boy gently snored against him, Clover felt the excitement slowly fade into contemplation. 

What on Remnant had he just agreed to? He wasn’t going to take it back, he really did want to be Marrow's father, of that he had no doubt. But could he really handle it? Marrow had been through so much in his short life. Was Clover really prepared to handle all of the trauma and issues he would no doubt have as a result? What was he gonna do about Harriet and her utter disdain for the kid? Oh Brothers, what was he gonna tell the General? 

These questions plagued the Ace Operative’s mind as he rode the elevator up to his and his teams quarters. Once he arrived and stepped through the threshold Marrow stirred to wakefulness in his arms. 

“Cover?” Marrow yawned, rubbing a tiny fist to his eye.

“Hey little pup.” Clover softly greeted the sleepy faunus, “You can go back to sleep, we’re here.”

“No, not tired.” he replied tiredly. 

Clover chuckled, absentmindedly rubbing Marrows back, “Ok Mr.Not Tired, how about we get you some lunch then?” 

“M’kay.” Marrow wearily nodded, nuzzling into Clovers chest.

Clover bit back a “daww” at the action, favoring instead to place Marrow on a chair at the table. He went to the fridge and grabbed some leftover mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Putting it in the microwave he glanced back at Marrow whose head was bobbing up and down in a drowsy way. Clover chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, rousing him slightly from his stupor.

“Come on don’t fall asleep on me now.” he joked, playfully tickling the boy's neck.

Marrow giggled sleepily, turning his head away, “Not fallin aseep.”

“Sure you aren’t.” Clover smiled, “Think you can not fall asleep long enough to eat something?”

“Mhm.” Marrow wearily nodded.

“Alright, good. Cause the food’s ready.” Clover said, grabbing the now warm food from the microwave and placing it in front of the boy with a fork.

“Thank you.” he mumbled, sleepily digging into the food.

Clover smiled and sat down to eat his own meal, checking every now and again to make sure Marrow was still awake. The kid was fighting the good fight, but it was a clearly one sided affair, as Marrow's head kept dropping and shooting back up only to repeat the process. 

“Alright little pup,” Clover softly laughed after the umpteenth time Marrow’s head dropped, “I think it’s time for your nap now.”

“No. Not tired.” Marrow protested, though he wrapped his arms around Clover and buried his face into the olders neck.

“Uh-huh. I know. But try for me anyways ok?” Clover said, lightly bouncing Marrow in his arms as he walked him to his bedroom. 

“Ok.” Marrow said groggily, quickly snuggling into the bed.

Clover deftly tucked Marrow in and brushed his bangs out of his face. 

“Alright, there you go buddy. Snug as a bug in a rug.” Clover said, softly petting down the blanket.

“M’kay. Nu night daddy.” Marrow mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

Clover felt his heart skip at the word, “Y-yeah. Night kiddo.”

Clover left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar and fell into the couch. He scrubbed his hands down his face and sighed deeply. He should call the General. Or maybe he should tell his team first? Brothers what was he gonna do? He was in no way prepared for this. But strangely, he didn’t regret it in the least. That kid had seemed to make himself right at home in Clover’s heart in just a week of knowing him. Hell the kid was already calling him dad for goodness sake! If someone had told him 2 weeks ago that he would be taking in a kid he found on the streets and adopting him…. Well he probably would believe them in all honesty. It was something he would do. His ma always did say his heart was too big for his body.

Oh. Right, he should definitely add ma and pa to the list of people to break the news to. So, he was gonna have to tell Elm, Vine, ugh Harriet, the General, ma, and pa. Oh boy, those were gonna be fun conversations. Elm and Vine would probably take it well, he knows they already love the kid. He was beyond sure his parents would be ecstatic, they always told him they wanted grandkids. Harriet and the General on the other hand. Oh Brothers that was going to hurt. Harriet had made it pretty clear she didn’t like Marrow. At all. The General would probably side with her on Marrow being a distraction. Brothers was he not ready for those conversations. 

But it could probably wait till tomorrow. By the time his teammates returned they would be too tired for a conversation like that. Maybe when he put Marrow down for his afternoon nap. He didn’t want the kid hearing whatever bullshit Harriet had to say about him. Brothers know that kid has been through enough in his life. Letting another sigh pass his lips he leaned back into the couch. Brothers. He was in deep. 

“Heh, ma’s gonna flip.” he chuckled, folding his hands behind his head.

“We’re back!” Elm shouted upon entering the room with the other.

“Shh! Marrows taking a nap!” Clover quickly shushed, jumping up from the couch.

Elm had the decency to look sheepish, “Sorry.” she apologized at a far quieter volume.

Harriet rolled her eyes, “Who cares? We’re adults, our lives shouldn’t have to revolve around some mutt you pick up off the street.”

Elm gasped, “How can you say something like that about that sweet little boy in there? You should know better than to say such derogatory language! Especially about a child!”

“Fine, how about stray? Or brat? Or half breed?” Harriet said, her voice rising in volume. 

“Enough both of you. If you two wanna duke it out, take it to the training rooms. And Harriet, if I ever hear you say anything like that again, either about Marrow or anyone else, you can consider yourself suspended from active duty till further notice am I clear?” Clover commanded, getting in between the two.

“But-” Harriet began.

“Am. I. Clear, operative?” Clover said slowly, leveling an icy glare at the shorter woman.

Harriet crossed her arms and grumbled out, “As crystal sir.”

Clover crossed his own arms and cocked his hip, “Good. Now, get cleaned up. You all smell worse than Sayber breath.” 

That got a small chuckle out of Elm as the three of them went to get cleaned up in their own rooms. Yup. Gonna be super fun telling Harriet about adopting Marrow tomorrow. Maybe he should shut the door all the way when he puts Marrow down for his nap. Might muffle what will for sure be Harriet’s screaming. Joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! As always it was a blast writing this with Daisy78173! She's super awesome and a ton of fun to work with!! That being said if you liked this please leave a comment below! Have a lovely day!


	5. Easy Decisions and Difficult Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover prepares himself for a series of interesting conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to another chapter of Puppies and Good-Luck charms! Hope you're ready! ;3

Clover was on his way to a private meeting with General Ironwood. He had called him the evening before to ask to speak with him. He needed to tell him about his decision to keep Marrow. He had spent the last night tossing and turning, debating on who to talk to first. He had finally decided to speak to General Ironwood first, then his teammates, then his parents. It was the General who had him told he could have Marrow until he found somewhere safe for him to live. And well, he had. So onward, to the first of many interesting conversations. 

Reaching the door of the General’s office he paused to gather himself, and knocked.

“Come in.” General Ironwoods muffled voice called from the office.

“General Ironwood sir.” Clover said, saluting as he entered the room.

“At ease, soldier. Why did you need to speak with me today?” the General never was one to beat around the bush.

“It’s about Marrow sir. The young faunus boy I’ve taken in.” Clover said, hoping his nerves didn’t show through his voice.

General Ironwood raised an eyebrow at Clover and leaned forward, “What about him? Did you find somewhere for him to live?”

“Well,” Clover said, drawing out the word a bit, “I have, in a way.” 

“In a way?” the General asked, his brow furrowing.

Clover shifted a bit on his feet and cleared his throat, “I found a great place for him to live. With someone who already loves him with all their heart. It-sir, I’ll be honest. It’s me. I wish to keep Marrow and legally adopt him as my own.”

There, he said it, no taking it back now. A silence permeated the room as General Ironwood stared at him. His gaze was neutral, not giving a single thought away. Clover was sure the General could see into his very soul. 

“Clover.” the General said after a moment, “I told you that you could keep him until you found a safe place for him.”

“And sir I have, it’s with me. And I’m sorry sir, but I am not giving him up.” Clover stood a little straighter, squaring his shoulders.

“Clover, you have one of the highest risk jobs in all of Remnant. That and you’re only 25, do you really believe you can properly care for a child?” Ironwood sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“With all due respect sir, yes, I believe I can.” Clover sighed, “Sir, he needs me. I’ll take whatever comes with this decision, I don’t care. I’m not giving him up. Not now, and not ever.”

The General leveled Clover in an icy stare, but Clover did not back down. He wasn’t going to go back on his decision.

Eventually Ironwood sighed, “Very well. If you’re truly going to commit to this then I won’t stop you.” he smirked at Clover, “Just don’t expect me to play babysitter for him.”

Clover felt as if he could cry in relief. Instead he just chuckled, “Right! Thank you sir!”

“Don’t thank me just yet operative.” Ironwood said, raising a hand, “Childcare is no easy task.” 

“Understood sir.” Clover said, saluting.

“You’re dismissed.” the General said with a wave of his hand, “And Clover?”

“Yes sir?” Clover said.

“Good luck.” General Ironwood had a soft look in his eyes with the words.

“Thank you sir.” Clover smiled as he headed out the door.

Once he was out the door, Clover all but sagged against the wall. That was nerve wracking, but it had gone surprisingly well. He just hoped that the conversation with his teammates would go half as well. Walking back to the Ace Ops shared quarters he tried to think of how to break the news to his teammates. Or more accurately, to Harriet. Elm and Vine he already knew would take it well, but Harriet was a completely different story. She had made it beyond clear that she didn’t like Marrow, so she had Clover pretty worried. At least Marrow would be sleeping during this whole thing.

Before he even reached the door he could hear Marrow's laughter, the sound loosened the knot in his stomach. Opening the door he was greeted by an absolutely precious sight. Marrow being held upside down by Elm and giggling his head off while Vine stood close by, clearly ready to catch Marrow at any moment. 

“See! I told you, he loves this stuff! Just listen to that giggling!” Elm said, beginning to tickle Marrow's belly. Marrow’s laughter grew in volume as he wiggled around in Elms grip.

“Alright, alright. I think he’s had enough.” Clover chuckled, plucking a still giggly Marrow from Elm.

“Aww we’re just having a bit of fun!” Elm grinned.

“Good afternoon captain. Marrow has been fed and Elm has been….. keeping him rather entertained.” Vine greeted.

“Great.” Clover grinned, “I take it that means you had a good time huh?” he said, booping Marrow's nose.

“Uh-huh! We played hide and seek and I won and Elm tossed me into the couch a bunch of times! It was awesome!” Marrow babbled, bouncing a bit in Clover's arms.

“Oh yeah? That sounds super fun! Now why don’t you get cleaned up and ready for your nap?” Clover chuckled, putting Marrow on the floor.

“But I’m not tired!” Marrow protested.

“Well then how about you just get cleaned up then?” Clover offered, crouching down to Marrow's level, “Then you can be nice and clean for later.”

Marrow hummed in contemplation before nodding, “Ok.”

He dashed off before suddenly stopping, turning around, and tightly hugging Clover, who grinned and hugged him back, ruffling his hair softly. 

“Alright, go on and get cleaned up.” Clover said after releasing Marrow from his hug. 

“Ok daddy!” Marrow chirped, dashing off once more. Leaving a stunned Elm and Vine in his wake. 

“Did he just..?” Elm began.

“Are you going to correct that soon sir?” Vine said, turning to Clover with an almost concerned look.

“Uh...let’s talk about it when Marrow’s asleep ok?” Clover awkwardly chuckled. 

The partners shared a look but, wisely, said nothing. Soon a much less energetic Marrow came out of Clover's room yawning and rubbing his eyes. 

“Hey buddy. How are you feeling?” Clover said, holding back laughter.

“Seeby.” he mumbled.

“Yeah, I thought so. Let’s get you to bed.” Clover went over to the sleepy boy and lifted him into his arms. “Elm, could you grab Harriet? I want all of you in here.”

“Sure thing Clover!” she grinned giving him a thumbs up.

“Alright buddy, there you go. Snug as a bug in a rug.” Clover said as he tucked Marrow in. He gently rubbed the boy’s back until he fell asleep, giving him one last soft smile before heading out into what was sure to be an… interesting conversation. Stepping into the common room he took a deep breath and walked in front of his team. 

“You’re probably wondering why I called you all here.” he began, standing with his arms folded behind his back.

“Something like that.” Harriet said from her place on the couch.

“Well I have some news. Good news depending on how you look at it.” Clover said, offering what he hoped wasn’t an awkward smile.

Now or never Ebi he thought to himself. “I have decided to officially adopt Marrow. I already got the go ahead from the General.” 

A beat of silence followed before, “YOU WHAT?” “THAT’S AMAZING!” “Marrow is trying to sleep. Please try to not yell.”

Clover was quick to shush them, “Everyone everyone calm down. Except you Vine, you fine. But Elm, Harriet, you two need to relax.”

“Sorry Clover. Just excited!” Elm said, practically bouncing in her seat.

“Captain you can’t be serious!” Harriet interjected, “This kid’ll just just get in the way of our jobs! We have a duty to protect the people and you can’t just stop because some brat begged for your attention!”

“Harriet.” Clover said, trying to keep his rising anger out of his voice, “I appreciate your input, but I’ve made up my mind. The boy stays.”

“But captain he’s just a distraction!” Harriet argued, rising to her feet.

“No buts, Operative, Marrow stays. End of story.” Clover said, his voice icy.

“Captain you can’t just adopt some random kid you met on the streets! You’ve barely known him a week! For all you know he could be a thief or a spy or something! You don’t know a thing about him!” Harriet began fuming.

“Do you hear yourself right now? He’s five! And you think he’s a spy? That’s ridiculous!” Clover scowled, “And I know enough about him! I know he’s a sweet innocent kid who deserves a good home! And I am going to give that to him!”

“You’re an idiot!” Harriet shouted.

“That’s it! Operative Bree you are here by suspended from active duty!” Clover seethed, glaring down at the speedster.

Harriet seemed like she was about to say something but thought better of it, backing down with a “Yes sir.” and storming off to her room, slamming the door as she went.

“She’s acting like a petulant child.” Vine said, his calm voice cutting through the thick tension in the room.

Clover took a deep breath, “Yeah. She’ll get over it. So, you two don’t mind him being here, do you?”

“Of course not! He’s such a sweetie! I’m more than happy to have him here!” Elm grinned.

“He has brought a certain level of joy since you brought him here.” Vine stated, though it Clover looked close enough he could swear there was the tiniest of smiles on his face.

“Good. Good.” Clover sighed, relieved that at least they liked the kid, “I’m glad. I’m gonna check on Marrow, make sure none of this commotion woke him up.”

“Good idea. That girl was shouting loud enough to wake the dead!” Elm chuckled.

Clover laughed softly, “Yeah. Right.”

He left the two, quickly making his way over his room where Marrow (hopefully) still slept. Deftly opening the door he saw Marrows form, breathing softly, his tail thumping occasionally on the bed due to whatever dream he was having. Clover smiled, quietly crossing the threshold and closing the door behind him. Now sitting on the edge of the bed he looked on at Marrow's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful laying there, Clover was almost afraid he would fall asleep if he looked at him too long. He softly chuckled, gently petting up and down Marrows back. He paused when Marrow stirred. 

“Mm?” Marrow mumbled his eyes cracking open slightly.

“Hey, sorry buddy didn’t mean to wake you. Just go back to sleep ok?” Clover quietly soothed, gently scratching Marrow scalp.

“Mhm.” Marrow muttered, quickly falling back to sleep.

He chuckled fondly, getting off the bed and heading back out the door. 

“Still sleeping?” Elm asked upon his return.

“Like a baby.” Clover smiled, flopping onto the love couch next to Elm.

“You do know babies are notoriously bad sleepers right?” Vine commented, making Clover and Elm look at each other before bursting out in laughter.

“Alright then smarty pants what is a good sleeper?” Clover grinned playfully.

“Elm. It is nearly impossible to wake her up at any time, night or day.” Vine said, sending Clover through a new wave of laughter while Elm pouted.

“I’m not that bad.” she grumbled.

Vine cocked his head, “You are though.” 

Elm continued to grumble while Clover calmed down from his sudden laugh attack. The three idly chatted and at some point someone turned on the tv, more or less ending the conversation. Eventually Clover woke Marrow from his nap and they all decided to play a board game, one that Clover won to Elm’s dismay.

“You cheated!” she exclaimed, glaring angrily at Clover.

“I didn’t! I’m just really good at Sweet Island!” Clover laughed.

“Liar!” she cried, lunging at him and beginning a wrestling session.

“Is she mad at daddy?” Marrow worriedly asked Vine.

“No. She’s just a sore loser, but she’s not really mad.” Vine calmy reassured.

Elm had gotten Clover in a headlock, “Say it! Say you cheated!”

“I didn’t cheat! Let me go!” Clover laughed, wiggling to escape her iron grip.

“Leave my daddy alone!” Marrow cried, jumping on Elm who quickly released Clover to catch the young boy. 

“Ah! No! I’m being attacked by an adorable monster! Vine help me!” Elm called dramatically, holding a wiggling Marrow up in the air.

“You are on your own Elm.” Vine said calmly.

“Traitor!” she cried, though a giggle broke through.

Clover laughed, “Marrow you’re my hero! Here! I’ll help you!” 

Things quickly devolved after that, wrestling, games of chase, all of which had them all (minus Vine) laughing their heads off. Soon enough dinner came and went, Harriet apparently chose to skip the meal, and they had all settled down for the night. It was as Clover had just finished tucking in Marrow that he remembered to call his parents. He had saved, what he hoped was, the best for the last. He knew his parents, he knew they would support him no matter what, but he couldn’t help the knot of anxiety that tightened in his stomach with every moment he didn’t make the call.

“Hey, I’m gonna step out for a second. I gotta make a call.” he said to his two teammates, who were currently playing a game of rummy.

“Don’t stay out too long!” Elm called over her shoulder.

“I’ll try not to!” he called back, already part way out the door.

Once in the hallway Clover took a deep breath and pulled up his ma’s contact. A ring, then two, then three, with each moment she didn’t pick up the knot grew in his stomach. Finally on the fifth ring she picked up.

“Clover! Sweetheart! How are you?” his mother's warm voice greeted him, sending a wave of comfort and relief through him.

Clover let out a small laugh, “Hey ma. I’m good. Is pa there? I have something really important to tell you guys.” 

“Of course dear, one second. ASH! CLOVER’S ON THE PHONE!” she heard his mother call.

“I’m comin, I’m comin!” his father's deep voice called back in the distance. “I’m here. Put him on speaker.” 

A bit of rustling and he heard his father more clearly, “Hey there buddy! How’s my favorite guy?”

Clover laughed a bit, “I’m good pa. I have some big news though!” now or never, “You and ma are gonna be grandparents!”

There was a beat of silence before his mother spoke, “When the hell did you get married?” his mother asked incredulously.

Clover couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that left him, “No ma, I’m not married. I found this kid on the street-”

“Say no more.” his mother interrupted, “You did the same thing when you were little. Every stray animal you could find, dogs, cats, geese even! You’d bring em right home and beg us to let you keep em.” 

“It’s, uh, it’s funny you should say that.” Clover said before launching into the story of how he had found Marrow.

Once he had finished there was another beat of silence, “So you picked up a faunus from the street.” his father broke the silence this time, “Does that make what your mother said racist?”

Clover was a bit stunned at the lack of surprise from them both, “Uh, I don’t think so? You know you two are taking this shockingly well.”

His mother laughed from the other end of the line, “Sweetpea you’ve always had a big heart. Something like this was bound to happen eventually.”

“Plus,” his father interjected, “Ivy’s been planning for this practically since you were born!”

“Ash!” Clover heard a soft thump, so he assumed his mother threw a pillow at his father.

“Heh, how does that not surprise me.” he chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

“You watch your tone young man.” his mother playfully admonished, “Now, I want to hear everything about this boy. What’s he like? Does he have a favorite dish? Tell me absolutely everything!” 

“Oh ma, he’s amazing! Marrow is the sweetest most adorable kid you’ll ever meet!” Clover gushed. 

His parents remained mostly silent as he babbled on about how great Marrow was, only interjecting the occasional question or anecdote about how he was so similar to Clover growing up.

“He was copying me during training! It was so cute!” Clover rambled on, a mile wide grin plastered on his face.

“Oh you did the same thing when you were little! You used to copy me all the time!” his mother laughed, “Did you pull the “you got something wrong right here” move?” 

“Yeah I did! It-it’s actually what led to him calling me daddy for the first time. That was the moment any doubts I had about keeping him just, melted away.” Clover sighed.

“Well, it’s good you know you love him so much already.” his father said, and Clover could practically see the smile in his voice.

Clover softly laughed, “Yeah, I do, I really really do. I want to be a dad, HIS dad. I want to be part of his life. To be there for him when he needs me. To let him grow up safe and happy. It’s just-” he trailed off.

“Just what honey?” His mom said tenderly.

Clover felt a sudden lump grow in his throat and a pressure settle itself behind his eyes, “Ma, pa, I-I’m scared. What if I mess up? What if he gets hurt because of me? What if something happens to me and he has nowhere to go? What if-” 

“Now you listen here.” his dad cut him off sternly, “You will mess up. Parenthood is all about making mistakes! But you have to own up to those, you fix the mistakes you make and you work to be better. Tell me, do you know what really matters in a parent to child relationship?”

“Uhh,” Clover stumbled.

“Of course you don’t!” the older man exclaimed, “But I’ll give you some advice. It’s not just making sure he eats his veggies, or does his homework, or goes to bed on time. It’s about respect. You have to respect him, respect his boundaries, just like he’ll respect you. It’s about spending time with him. Sharing interests, enjoying the time you spend together, honesty, keeping promises, being there for him when he needs you. That is what makes a good relationship.” 

“Dear,” his mom said softly, “It’s also about knowing when to hold back and when to keep pushing. It’s not easy, you will mess up. But that’s part of the journey. You have to listen to him, apologize when you make a mistake or do something wrong. It’s about trust, and about supporting him. Sometimes you won't understand, but if you show him you’re willing to try then it makes all the difference.”

Clover sniffled, tears falling freely from his eyes, “Ma, pa I-”

“Darling.” his mom said, “I’m not quite done. You see, you also need to know when to say no to him. And to mean it. You’ll argue, and you’ll both do things wrong that might hurt the other. But if you’re willing to apologize when you hurt him, and forgive him when he hurts you, then you’ll do just fine. Plus you always have us if you need any help.”

“Your mother’s right.” His father said, “Clover, sweetheart, you’re mother and I are so proud of who you are today and we love you so much. I promise, we’ll be right here with you through it all.”

“Thanks pa, thanks ma.” Clover managed to choke out through his tears.

“Anytime sweetheart.” his mom said warmly.

“I love you guys.” he smiled despite the rivers currently running down his face.

“We love you too honey.” his dad said, “Now make sure to bring our new grandson over to visit soon. I want to meet him and I know your ma’s chomping at the bit about it.” 

Clover laughed, scrubbing his eyes, “Yeah, ok pa. I gotta go now. I love you both a bunch. Bye.”

“Bye, we love you too!” his parents said before he cut the call.

Once the call was over Clover gave himself a minute to collect himself. Once he was calmed down he re-entered the common room where apparently his teammates had retired to their rooms. Good, Clover was pretty sure his eyes were still red and puffy. He didn’t want his teammates to know he’d been crying. 

All and all, that went really well. He knew his parents wouldn’t be mad, but he was still really happy they took it so well. Ivy and Ash Ebi were some of the best parents a guy could hope for. He only hoped he could be half as great of a parent as they had been. He padded softly to his room, checked to see that Marrow was still asleep, and quickly cleaned himself up in the bathroom. But as he was about to leave again he heard a soft whimper from his bed. 

Turning he saw that Marrow's face was scrunched up in discomfort and he was starting to toss and turn in the bed. Clover deftly walked over and crouched at Marrows side, tenderly running his hand through Marrow's hair.

“Hey buddy, it’s just a bad dream. You’re ok, I’m right here.” he murmured, moving forward and placing a small kiss on Marrow's forehead. 

Marrow stirred and cracked his eyes open, “Daddy?” he asked groggily.

“Yeah, sorry to wake you bud. You just looked like you were having a bad dream.” Clover said, still petting through Marrow's hair.

“I was.” Marrows yawned, “A monser was chasing me. I couldn move.”

“Yeah that sounds like a pretty nasty dream. But hey, that’s all it was. A dream. You’re safe now ok?” Clover softly reassured.

“Can you stay?” Marrow asked, giving Clover the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen, and with the tears Clover couldn’t find it in him to say no.

“Alright, I’ll stay.” climbing into the bed next to Marrow he kissed the top of the boy's head, “Sleep sweet little pup.”

“Love you daddy.” Marrow muttered before passing out again.

Clovers breath hitched a bit at the words, “Yeah sweetpea. I love you too.” He fell asleep with a smile on his face, holding Marrow close to his chest in a protective grip. Yeah, he definitely didn’t regret this decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! As always feel free to comment below as it makes mine and Daisy78173's day and have a lovely day!


	6. Messy Breakfasts and Surprise Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elm wakes up and expects to start the morning with a nice cup of coffee. She did not expect to see Marrow standing on the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So this ones gonna be a little.... ok a lot shorter than usual. But we have a good reason! We have a chapter we've been looking forward to writing since we came up with this whole fic! Anyway! We hope you all enjoy this short chapter!

Elm could hardly believe it, an entire month had passed since Marrow had come to live with them. Goodness how the time flies. He had blossomed so much in his short time with them, growing from such a scared and timid child to one of the most energetic children she had ever met. He was such a ray of sunshine and Elm loved him just a bit more with every passing day.

“Morning! Such a lovely time of day!” Elm said upon exiting her room.

“Good morning Elm.” she heard Vine greet from next to her.

“Good morning Vine!” she greeted, a sunny grin plastered on her face.

Vine hummed as they made their way to the kitchen, “It would appear we are the first ones up today.” 

“What, did our dear captain feel like sleeping in today?” Elm grinned, her hands behind her head.

“So it would seem.” Vine agreed, “He did get home rather late last night. Remember we had to put Marrow to bed and he was crying?” 

Elm hummed, “Yes, poor baby. I can only imagine the joy on his face when he sees Clover later though!” 

“I’m sure it will be a heart warming sight.” Vine mused.

Elm grinned as she opened the door to the kitchen. She…. wasn’t really prepared for the sight that greeted her. Standing on the counter was Marrow, his tail wagging, reaching for a box of pancake mix. Elm shot Vine a quick worried glance before moving to where Marrow was.

“Just what do you think you're doing little pup?” Elm asked, startling Marrow making him lose his balance and teeter back. Elm quickly caught him and held him in her arms.

“Miss.Elm! I-I was just, I wanted to-I was trying to-” Marrow stuttered, squirming slightly in her grip.

“Calm down Marrow. You are not in trouble.” Vine said, gently plucking Marrow from Elm and placing him on the ground.

“I wanted to-” and the rest was mumbled.

“What was that little pup?” Elm said, crouching down and tilting her ear towards him.

“I-I wanted to make daddy pancakes. He’s been working really hard, I really like pancakes, so I wanted to make him some.” he said, now loud enough for them to hear.

Elm felt her heart grow three sizes in that moment, he was so precious, this child was going to be the death of her.

“We can help you.” Vine said, getting the pancake mix down himself. “You simply had to ask us.”

“I didn’t wanna wake you up. Sorry.” Marrow said quietly, shuffling his feet with his tail wrapped around his waist.

Elm ruffled his hair and grinned at him, “Don’t you worry you’re fluffy little head! If you ever need help with anything then don’t hesitate to get one of us! Be it late at night or early in the morning.”

Marrow seemed to perk up as his tail began wagging. Elm grinned wider at the sight, she loved seeing the boy happy. He deserved it, just like he deserved the best dang pancakes in the world!

“Alright!” she cheered. “Let’s get started! Vine get the pan ready! I’ll grab the eggs and milk! We’re gonna make our captain the best pancakes this side of Remnant!” 

“Yeah!” Marrow cheered with a giggle.

Elm quickly began getting it all prepped, lifting Marrow to get the mixing bowl down from the top shelf. She let him pour the mix, but it poured too fast and covered them in pancake mix. He looked slightly scared when the dust settled, but quickly seemed to calm down when Elm started laughing. She flicked a bit of the mix at Marrow, who sneezed the cutest sneeze Elm had ever heard, he flicked some at her and it quickly turned into a mini food war between the two. The fight only ended when Vine cleared his throat and gave them both a look while grabbing a new box of pancake mix. This time Elm poured the mix, showed Marrow how to crack eggs, and poured the milk. She did let him mix the batter though, he seemed to greatly enjoy it. 

Soon the batter was all ready and Vine poured it into the pan, Marrow looking on in fascination as he did. Once the batter was ready Vine shot a quick look to Marrow and flipped the pancake perfectly. Marrow gasped and began bouncing from his place on the counter, if Elm didn’t know any better she would almost say Vine had been showing off. But that was ridiculous, Vine didn’t show off. 

“Can you…. Can you show me how to do that?” Marrow said quietly in awe.

“Perhaps when you’re a bit older.” Vine said, glancing briefly at Marrow.

Elm chuckled, “Say little pup, would you like to hear about the time I took down two ursa with nothing but my bare hands?” 

“Elm are you sure he is old enough for such stories?” Vine asked, flipping the pancake again.

“He’s fine.” she scoffed, “You wanna hear the story right little pup?”

“Uh-huh uh-huh!” Marrow enthusiastically nodded, his tail wagging furiously. 

“See!” she beamed, “Alright Marrow, I was out in the tundra, taking care of a mission…” Marrow listened to the story with rapt attention, hanging onto every word while Vine made the pancakes. 

Soon they had a sizable pile of pancakes on a plate, just in time it seemed as Clover stepped through the door. Yawning, he walked to the coffee maker, seeming to not notice the pancakes or the dust covered trio in front of him. 

“Morning Vine, morning Elm, morning Marrow.” he groggily said, sipping his coffee, before pausing. “Oh, why do you all look like you're going to a costume party as the ghost uncles from Capper the kindly spirit?”

“We made you breakfast!” Marrow beamed, bounding over to his father and lifting his arms.

Clover chuckled and, after setting down his coffee, lifted Marrow into his arms. “You made breakfast? That’s so great! It looks amazing, you did such a great job!”

Marrow giggled, “Auntie Elm and Uncle Vine helped me!”

Elm froze. Auntie Elm? Sure she was already an aunt with Spruce and Birch, but Marrow? Oh Brothers, he just called her auntie. He just called her auntie! She had another nephew! This was amazing! Looking at her partner he was clearly ecstatic, if the small smile on his face was anything to go by.

“Oh, Marrow!” Elm cried, grabbing Marrow from Clover and hugging him close. 

“Elm!” Clover laughed, “Give me back my son!”

“Never! He’s my nephew now! You can have him back later!” she shot back with a grin, holding Marrow a little closer.

Marrow seemed to enjoy the hug as he giggled and wiggled a bit in Elms arms. 

“Vine, would you mind getting some plates and such? My hands are a bit full.” Elm cheerily asked her partner.

“Yes, of course.” he said, calmly moving to grab the needed cutlery.

“I’ll get some syrup and milk.” Clover offered, moving to the fridge.

Soon the table was all set and the pancakes were served. Elm still held onto Marrow the whole time, even eating her pancakes with him on her lap. Eventually Harriet came into the room, took a glance at Marrow, scoffed, then grabbed a pancake before leaving again. 

Marrow furrowed his brow, but simply took another bite of his pancakes. Once their meal was over Clover and Vine put the dishes in the dishwasher and Elm continued to hold onto Marrow. She didn’t let him go even as they left their shared quarters, walked through the school, and to the training rooms.

“Elm…. we have to train now. He’s fine to watch us but-” Clover began before Elm cut him off.

“No. He’s my nephew now.” she argued.

“Elm please.” Clover sighed, though a small laugh did make its way through.

“Never!” she exclaimed, hugging Marrow tightly to her chest.

“Auntie,” Marrow said tapping her arm, “you’re crushing my tail.”

“Oh! Sorry sweetpea!” she apologized, loosening her hold.

Marrow took the opportunity to wiggle out of Elms grip and dash over to Clover.

“BETRAYAL!” she cried, dramatically falling to her knees.

She looked up as she felt Vine patting her arm, “It will be alright. I’m sure he will return later for hugs.”

Elm smiled at him and sprang back to her feet, “Of course he will! I give the best hugs in all of Remnant! Just look!” she then threw her arms around her partner's waist and lifted him into the air.

“Elm, please put me down.” he said calmly, barely reacting to her playfulness.

Elm chuckled but placed him back on the ground, “Pretty great hug though right?”

“It was very…. jubilant.” he replied, walking over to where Clover was holding Marrow.

Elm was about to reply when Harriet brushed past her, “Can we just get to training already?” the smaller woman grumbled, shooting a short glare at Marrow as she passed.

Marrow frowned and looked down at the floor, “Daddy, why doesn’t Miss.Harriet like me? Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong little pup. She’s just a grumpy baby.” Clover reassured Marrow.

“Your father is right. pay her no mind. I am sure she will warm to you with time anyhow.” Vine offered.

“Exactly! You’re too cute not to like anyways!” Elm grinned, playfully wiggling Marrow's foot, making the young faunus giggle.

Clover smiled and nuzzled his nose into Marrow hair, “Come one. You wanna watch us train?” 

Marrow giggled and nodded, nuzzling into Clovers neck. He sat off to the side as they started their training. When Elm glanced over to him he was either looking with wide excited eyes or was attempting to copy their moves. The boy was so cute that Elm felt practically fit to burst.

“Little pup! Do you want to train with us?” Elm called over to the child.

“Elm, I don’t know if he’s ready for that.” Clover said cautiously. 

Elm brushed him off, “I won’t be showing him the stuff we do. Just a couple punches and kicks. Maybe even a flip if he seems ready!”

“Seriously?” Harriet interjected, “It’s bad enough he’s here, but now you want to train him? If you really wanna waste your time with him then do it when we’re not training.” 

“Harriet…” Clover said in a warning tone.

Harriet scoffed and turned away, dashing off to continue her laps. Elm rolled her eyes and shot Clover a “what are you gonna do” look before heading over to Marrow.

“Wanna train little pup?” Elm grinned, crouching in front of the young faunus.

He looked pensively at her, “Are you sure? I don’t wanna take your time.”

Elm was gonna have some words to say to Harriet later, “Oh please. You won’t be taking any time I’m not willing to give. I’m happy to train you little pup!”

“Really?” he asked, his tail starting to wag slightly.

“Yup!” she chirped, jumping to her feet, “Now, are you ready to train?”

“Uh-huh!” he said, getting to his feet and smiling wide.

Elm grinned, happy to see Marrow so excited to work with her. 

“Then let’s get started little pup!” she cheered.

It turned out Marrow was a natural fighter, he already knew some basic punches and kicks, so moving on from there was too hard. By the time they were all finished with training Marrow had completed his first backflip, with some help from Elm but still! Part way through their walk back to their shared quarters Marrows got tired and Elm gently lifted him onto her shoulders. He promptly fell asleep and stayed asleep the rest of the way back. 

“Heh. It’s great to see him warming up to you Auntie Elm.” Clover chuckled upon noticing the sleeping faunus on Elm’s shoulders.

Elm laughed softly, her heart warming a bit further, “Yeah, I’m glad he likes me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!! If you liked this please leave a comment below as it makes mine and Daisy78173s day! Thank you and have a lovely day!


	7. Big Misunderstandings and Bigger Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was supposed to be a nice gesture get greatly misunderstood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is one Daisy78173 and I have been planning for a bit and we're really excited to share it with all of you! So we hope you all enjoy this chapter!!

“YOU LITTLE THIEF! I KNEW LETTING YOU STAY HERE WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA!” was the first thing Clover heard upon entering the Ace Ops shared quarters. 

“Harriet what’s going on?” Clover asked before he saw something that set his blood boiling. In front of Harriet was his son, kneeling on the floor and crying.

“I-I wasn’t, I’m not, I-” Marrow stuttered, tears flowing like rivers down his face.

“BULLSHIT!” Harriet screeched.

“ENOUGH!” Clover commanded, pulling Harriet away from his son. “Operative Bree we will speak about this later.” 

Marrow looked at him with wide terrified eyes, “D-daddy. I wasn’t-”

“Shh, shh.” Clover gently soothed, lifting Marrow into his arms, “It’s alright. Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah? Your face is all wet.” 

Marrow sniffled and began sucking his thumb while clinging to Clover like a baby koala. Clover would think it was adorable in just about any other situation but right now it was all he could do to not blow up at his teammate. Marrow needed him right now, he was Clovers main priority. He just wished he knew what had happened. 

~flash back~

A month. That stupid faunus brat had been with them for a little over a month. Harriet was beyond annoyed at this point. He had been enough of a distraction when he was just some kid from the streets that Clover had brought in, but now that Clover had actually adopted him? Brothers there was no getting away from him. All his sniffling, and “boo hoo poor me” bullshit, and his annoying laughing when he was playing with her teammates. She couldn’t wrap her head around why they fawned over the brat. He was just some stupid kid but they were practically acting like he was the second coming of the Brothers! It was absolutely ridiculous! 

She hit the punching bag a little harder in her anger. Stupid kid, stupid teammates, stupid Ironwood for letting this happen, stupid everything! She kicked the bag harder, breaking it with her semblance and sending it flying across the room. She was breathing heavily, rage coursing through her veins. She was so sick of that damn kid. He had been nothing but a distraction since the moment he showed up. 

She stewed in her anger all the way up to the Ace Op quarters. Stepping through the threshold her ears were assaulted by the shrieking laughter of Marrow as Clover chased him around the common room. Harriet growled and stalked past them, slamming her door closed behind her. Clover should be training, filling out reports, or going on missions, not playing with that Brothers forsaken mutt. She sighed heavily as she sat on her bed. She grabbed the rabbit charm on her bed stand, rubbing her thumb over the worn metal. It had been a gift from her father when she was a kid, he always called her “his little bunny rabbit”. It was a stupid nickname but one she loved all the same. Brothers she missed him, even years later there was hardly a day she didn’t think about him. 

Another shriek of laughter brought Harriet out of her revery, making her temper flare again. Brothers she didn’t know what was more annoying, the brats sniveling or his loud shrieking laughter. Either one drove her absolutely up the wall. She couldn’t take another second of this. She stood from her bed and stormed out of the room, Clover had apparently caught the brat and was tickling him. Well that explains the laughing. 

Stomping past the two she put her shoes on and took off, unsure of her destination. At first she just walked all throughout the school, past the library, the classrooms, the training rooms, the cafeteria, and she ended up in the garden. Well, one of the gardens, Atlas academy had several gardens throughout the building. Some were for teaching students about safe and unsafe plants, some were just for the enjoyment of staff and students. She had ended up in one of the latter. It was full of various kinds of flowers, filling the room with a soft floral perfume. Harriet sat at one of the benches, running a hand through her short hair. 

She should probably get over this whole hating the brat thing, but he was just so damn annoying! And distracting! If they weren’t at the top of their game at all times then they wouldn’t make it home. They needed to focus on staying on top and constantly being at their best, why couldn’t anyone else see that? They were huntsmen too, why couldn’t they see this kid was nothing but a distraction from their work! Brothers, if something happened to any of her teammates she wasn’t sure she could recover from that. 

“Since when have you been so soft Bree.” she muttered to herself.

Soon she stood up from the bench, stretched, and meandered around the garden for a bit longer. It was a pretty nice place, she should come here again sometime. A buzzing from her scroll stole her attention.

“Go for Bree.” she said, her voice all business.

“Hey Harriet.” Elms voice spoke from the other line, “Can I ask for a huge favor?”

“Uh, sure I guess? What is it?” Harriet asked.

“Well,” Elm began, sounding oddly sheepish, “Clover had to run to an emergency meeting with the General, and Vine and I just got a call for a Grimm attack in Mantle.” 

Harriet did not like where this was going.

“So could you watch Marrow for a bit?” Nope. No way. Nu-uh. Not gonna happen. “I know he’s not your favorite person but Clover should be back soon and it’ll only be for a few minutes! Who knows! Maybe some quality time with him will show you what a sweetheart he is!” 

“Elm there is no way I’m doing that.” Harriet deadpanned.

“Please! You don’t even have to do anything! Just make sure he doesn’t hurt himself! Please? I’ll make you a carrot cake!” Elm all but begged.

Now that caught Harriets attention, “....You swear it’s just for a few minutes?”

“Yes!” Elm cheered.

“It had better have cream cheese frosting!” she cried before the call ended.

Harriet let out a sigh. Well this was gonna suck. At least she was getting cake out of it. She walked back to her shared quarters, dreading every moment she stepped closer. She seriously did not want to do this. Being completely alone with the mutt wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time. She grumbled as she walked into the common room.

“You owe me big time Ederne.” she scowled at Elm as she shot past.

“Thank you!” the taller woman called before the door closed behind her.

She sighed again and turned to the kid, “Just stay out of my way and keep quiet, and we’ll be fine, got it?”

Marrow timidly nodded at her and went back to whatever he was doing, it looked like he was braiding some string. Whatever she didn’t care. She walked to her room, keeping the door open so she could keep an eye on the brat. She grabbed her rabbit again, looking at it a moment and sighing. She wasn’t going to waste any time, even if she had to watch this mutt. Standing back up she grabbed her scroll and went over to the kitchen.

“I’m gonna fill out some reports. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m in there.” she said curtly, entering the kitchen to fill out her reports. She never really liked doing her reports in her bedroom, that was a place for resting and recuperating. She didn’t want to bring work into that space, so she would go into the common room or the kitchen to do her work.

It felt like days had passed by the time she finished her last report. Sighing and stretching she left the room once more, upon entering the common room the sight that greeted her had her seeing red. There at the coffee table was the mutt, and he was fucking around wit her rabbit. That little son of a bitch. He stole her rabbit. That little piece of metal was the only thing she had left of her father and he had stolen it!

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” she shouted, clearly terrifying the boy, but she didn’t care, she was too angry.

“I-I was j-just, I was-” he stuttered, only serving to infuriate Harriet further.

“J-J-JUST WHAT?” she mocked, “YOU TRYING TO STEAL MY THINGS YOU LITTLE SHIT?” 

“N-no, I-I w-w-was” oh great now the mutt was starting to cry. Just great.

“WHAT? YA KNOW WHAT I DON’T FUCKING CARE! YOU HAVE BEEN NOTHING A THORN IN MY BROTHERS FORSAKEN SIDE SINCE THE MOMENT YOU SHOWED UP!” she shouted, moving towards the thing and snatching her rabbit from in front of him. “YOU ARE JUST SOME NO GOOD FILTHY FAUNUS MUTT! A THIEVING LITTLE SHIT LIKE YOU DOESN’T DESERVE TO BE HERE!”

The mutt was shaking and crying, driving her infuriation to its peak, “NOTHING TO SAY? HUH YOU LITTLE THIEF! I KNEW LETTING YOU STAY HERE WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA!” she screeched, not noticing the door opening behind her.

“I-I wasn’t, I’m not, I-” it whimpered, tears falling from its eyes like waterfalls.

“BULLSHIT!” she exploded, all but ready to do who knows what to this mutt.

“ENOUGH!” a commanding voice boomed from behind her, cutting through her angered haze and bringing her back to reality.

A hand roughly pushed her away from the kid. When had she gotten so close? 

“Operative Bree we will speak about this later.” his voice was so icy it froze whatever anger still burned in her and turned it into mounting fear, and something almost akin to guilt.

Whatever was said after Clover picked Marrow up and brought him to his room was lost on Harriet as she stumbled to her own room. She didn’t quite register the trinket in her hand, too engrossed in an inner debate of just how fired she was for this. Brothers what had she done? Sure she didn’t really like the kid, but she had been so close to actually hurting him. She never would have forgiven herself if she had. To harm a child, even one she didn’t like, was an act too horrible to even think about. And she had been right there, about to do it. Brothers what had she let herself become? So consumed by her short sided rage that she had failed to see how terrible of a person she was becoming. For fucks sake she was a huntress! She was supposed to protect kids like Marrow, not hurt them. Brothers what had she done? 

Sniffling a bit she moved to scrub at her suddenly wet eyes, when she finally noticed what was in her hand. A small crudely made bracelet, or was it an anklet? The thing was small, made of pink and yellow string braided together, at the front was her rabbit. Or rather a clay version of her rabbit, with little drawings interwoven into the string. How on Remnant had she thought this was her actual rabbit? It wasn’t even very good, so it must have been made by Marrow. By the Brother had this been what he was working on? He…. he had been making her a gift? Why? She had been nothing but a total bitch to him. Why would he make her a gift? It didn’t make sense? And why was she crying harder at it? 

Running her finger deftly over the little bracelet (anklet?) she felt the guilt well up behind her eyes, begging for release. Which she gave it, with no small effort too. She sobbed into her hands, she was a horrible person. Brothers she was going to lose her job and never be able to show her face in Atlas again. She deserved it with how she had been acting. That poor kid, she just hoped Clover was able to fix whatever she had done to him.

~

Clover was going to kill Harriet, after he calmed down Marrow that is. His son needed him more after all. 

“I gotcha buddy, I gotcha.” he quietly soothed, petting through Marrow's dark locks and rocking him back and forth in his arms.

“I’m sorry! I-I didn’t steal! I promise!” Marrow sobbed, clutching Clovers shirt in a vice grip.

“Shh, shh. I know. I know.” he murmured, “It’s ok. I know. I’ve got you buddy. It’s alright.”

Clover's heart was breaking for his baby. He didn’t deserve this, he didn’t deserve any of this. He and Harriet were going to have some words later. A huntress shouldn’t be acting like that. Ever. It was taking just about every ounce of self control to not charge over to Harriet's room right now and tear her a new one. The only thing holding him back was the sobbing, weeping, mess of a child in his arms.

“Buddy, do you think you can tell me what happened?” Clover gently coaxed, wiping the tears from Marrow's face.

Marrow sniffled and took a few deep breaths, “I-I w-wanted to m-make Miss.H-Harriet a g-gift. I d-don’t w-want her to h-hate me. Sh-she h-had a b-b-bunny and I wanted h-her to take it on m-missions.” his eyes began to fill with tears once more.

“Shh, it’s alright. Deep breaths buddy, deep breaths.” he soothed, rubbing small circles on his back.

Marrow let out a strangled sob and re-buried his face in Clover's chest. Brothers he was going to kill Harriet. It didn’t matter what the hell Marrow had done, no one made his son cry. No one. 

“Oh sweetheart it’s ok. It’s gonna be ok. I’ve got you, and I promise I’m never letting her yell at you again.” probably because he was gonna fire her ass once Marrow was calmed down.

“I-” another sniffle “I made a bunny. O-out of the clay you g-got me. She-she got mad. I didn’t steal! I promise!” 

“Honey I know. I know you didn’t steal. I believe you ok?” he said, pressing a kiss into Marrow's hair.

“I’m sorry daddy.” he whimpered.

“Do you want Noodle?” Clover asked. The toy always seemed to help Marrow before, why not now?

“Mhm.” Marrow nodded into Clover's shirt, tears already starting to slow.

“Alright.” Clover murmured, lifting Marrow up to bring the kid to his room. A few days after he told everyone about his plans to keep Marrow, he had decided to take the old storage room and turn it into a bedroom for Marrow. It was the same size as any of the other bedrooms so it had more than enough space for Marrow. Plus, sifting through the old stuff in there had actually been pretty fun, especially when Elm and Vine joined in. The room was still a bit bare, only a little bed, a night stand, and a toy box right now, but it would surely grow with time. 

Stepping out of his own room though he was a bit surprised to see Elm and Vine. He was also a bit pissed. He had asked them to watch Marrow while he went to meet with the General. Why on Remnant had they left him with Harriet?

“Elm. Vine.” he greeted cooly, not letting his rising anger over take him.

“Clover!” Elm greeted cheerily, before her face dropped at the sight of a still whimpering Marrow, “What happened?”

“Harriet yelled at him.” he explained evenly, “Apparently he was going to make her a gift, but there was a…. misunderstanding, and she thought that he was stealing that rabbit charm she has.”

“Oh.” Elm stated simply.

“Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go comfort my son.” he said, brushing past his teammate and entering Marrow’s bedroom. 

He grabbed the little dinosaur plush and handed it to Marrow as he sat on the boy's tiny bed. He began gently rocking back and forth and rubbing Marrow’s back, murmuring soothing words into his hair. After what felt like forever, Marrow's tears subsided and his breathing evened. Clover stopped his rocking and pulled away from Marrow a bit.

“You feeling better Marrow?” Clover asked.

“Mhm.” he nodded, rubbing at his eyes.

Clover kissed the top of Marrow's head, “Good. How about we get you some juice huh? You must be pretty thirsty after all that crying.” 

Marrow looked up at Clover, eyes still a bit watery, “Ok. Can I have some peanut butter crackers too?” 

Clover chuckled, “Yeah, you can have some peanut butter crackers.”

Marrow offered him the tiniest of smiles and it warmed Clover's heart, making the anger he had felt ebb away ever so slightly. Helping Marrow down from his lap he took the boy’s hand and led him back out to the common room. Clover wished he could say he was surprised by the sight that greeted him, but at this point he really wasn’t. 

In front of them was Vine, holding a struggling Elm in the air with his semblance. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Elm sometimes had a bit of a temper and Vine would often hold her back from attacking someone unprovoked. Clover was honestly a bit glad. He knew why Elm was so pissed and it warmed his heart even further to know that she cared for Marrow so much.

“Vine put me down! I just want to talk to her!” Elm grunted out through her struggling.

“What’s Uncle Vine doing with Auntie Elm?” Marrow asked, looking at Vine and Elm curiously.

“Uh,” he faltered. It wasn’t like he could tell Marrow that Vine was holding Elm back from hurting Harriet. That would terrify the poor kid, “they’re-um-they’re playing.”

“Oh.” Marrow said, giving the two before him another curious look. “Can I play too?”

“Um.” Clover hesitated, “Ask Vine.”

Marrow smiled at him and trotted over to Vine and Elm, “Uncle Vine?” 

Vine looked down, looking a bit surprised, “Oh, hello Marrow. Can I help you?”

“Can I play with you and Auntie Elm? Your game looks fun.” Marrow asked, his tail starting to wag a bit.

“Game?” Vine asked, glacing curiously at Clover.

Clover mouthed, “Go with it.” and gestured to how he was lifting Elm in the air. Vine nodded and put Elm back on the ground.

“I’m not sure you want to play this game. I don’t want to drop you by accident.” Vine explained, crouching down to Marrows level.

“Marrow! How are you feeling?” Elm asked, crouching down next to Vine.

“I’m ok. Can I play that game you were playing with Uncle Vine? Please?” Clover was behind Marrow, but by the way he was standing he could practically see the puppy dog eyes Marrow was sending them.

“Oh course! Right Vine?” Elm said, shooting a glance at Vine.

“I-” Vine looked at Marrow again and sighed, “Yes. Alright. You can play the... game.”

Marrow's tail began wagging in earnest, “Thank you Uncle Vine!”

Vine activated his semblance and carefully grabbed Marrow, lifting him in the air. Marrow giggled and wiggled a bit in Vines aura hands. Clover let out a soft sigh, Vine would be careful, he had good control on his semblance, it would be fine, it’s fine. Clover walked to the kitchen, leaving the door open to keep an eye on Marrow and his teammate. Just to be safe. He had total confidence in his teammates abilities. It would be fine. He deftly went about pouring the juice and getting a snack for Marrow, the young faunus seemed to be having a good time. He was giggling and when Clover looked out the door he could see Marrow's tail wagging.

He chuckled and brought the snacks and juice out, “Alright take a break. I got snacks.”

Vine gently set Marrow on the ground and patted his head before the child scurried over to Clover. Chuckling, Clover set the plate down on the coffee table and ruffled Marrow’s hair. As Marrow snacked Clover walked over to Vine.

“Where'd Elm go?” he asked.

“She went to her room.” he said cooly, “She wanted to cool off for a bit. She said, and I quote, “If I don’t get out of here right now I’ll tear that girl apart.” though she didn’t say girl.” 

“Alright.” Clover said before sighing, “I’m not really sure what to do about Harriet. I know I should talk to her, but I’m just so unbelievably pissed at what she did. I’m afraid it would just lead to an argument.” 

Vine placed a hand on his shoulder, surprising him, “Maybe wait for a time until you are both in calmer mindsets, then talk to her.”

“Uh-yeah. You’re probably right.” Clover conceded, still a bit put off by the casual contact. “I just wish I had gotten here sooner. Maybe I could have taken him with me to the meeting, it’s not like we were talking about anything sensitive.” 

“You couldn’t have known this would happen sir.” Vine said, taking his hand off Clover’s shoulder.

“Yeah. I know, I still feel terrible about it though.” Clover sighed.

“I understand. Elm and I left him alone with Harriet to go on a mission, so I feel….. partly responsible for this.” Vine said. 

“Vine, you can’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have….. Oh. I see what you did there. Very Clever.” Clover said, chuckling.

“Glad you could see reason sir.” Vine said evenly.

“Heh, call me Clover. If Elm can call me Clover then so can you.” Clover chuckled, patting Vine on the shoulder.

Vine nodded, “Very well si-Clover.”

Clover smiled and went back to Marrow sitting down next to him, “Hey buddy. How are those crackers treating you?”

Marrow looked up, a cracker still half in his mouth, and offered Clover one of his crackers. Clover felt his heart melt and took the offered snack, ruffling Marrow's hair.

“Thank you honey.” he grinned, taking a bite of the snack.

Elm suddenly sat down next to Marrow's other side, “Can I have one of those too?” 

“Mhm.” Marrow nodded, handing a cracker to Elm.

“I’m gonna go talk to Harriet. Marrow, I need you to keep Elm and Vine company ok?” Clover said, placing his hand on Marrow's head.

“Ok.” Marrow nodded, offering Clover a small smile.

“Great. Thanks buddy.” Clover smiled back, walking purposefully to Harriet's room and knocking on the door. 

“Come in.” he heard from behind the door.

Stepping into her room Clover closed the door and stood at attention. “Operative.” 

“Sir.” Harriet said quietly.

“You know what you’ve done.” he said, keeping any and all anger out of his voice.

“Yes sir.” she said timidly.

“Do you know why what you did was horrible?” he asked.

She seemed to cringe at that, “I do sir.” 

Clover narrowed his eyes, “I hope you know there will be repercussions.”

Harriet folded further into herself, “I do sir.”

“You’re off active duty for the foreseeable future and you have mop duty till I say you don’t. Understood?” Clover growled.

“Yes sir.” she all but whispered. 

“Good. Now, when you think you can act like an adult, and not yell at a small child,” he said in a clipped tone, “I want you to apologize to Marrow. Understood?”

“Yes sir.” With that Clover turned and left the room, dropped his “professional captain” face, and adopted his “I’m not angry at all everythings all good” face. 

“Hey Marrow! Hope you didn’t miss me too much!” he grinned, crouching next to Marrow.

“Nope.” Marrow said, not even looking up from his drawing.

Clover fought back a laugh, “Not even a little? Cause I missed you.”

“Mhm.” since when had Marrow been so savage?

Clover pretended to sniffle and wipe a tear from his eye, “Oh, ok. I see. I’ll just go away then.”

That got Marrows attention as he finally put his crayon down and launched himself at Clover, “I didn’t mean it! Auntie Elm said it would be funny! I’m sorry.”

“Traitor!” Elm called from the love seat.

Clover fake sniffled again, “You mean it? You really did miss me?”

“Yes!” he cried, snuggling further against Clover.

Clover quickly grabbed Marrow and lifted him into the air, “I knew it! You can’t lie to me!”

He dropped Marrow onto his chest and laughed, wrapping Marrow up into a hug and kissing all over the top of his head, sending Marrow into a flurry of giggles.

“I love you.” Clover grinned into Marrow's hair.

“I love you too daddy.” Marrow said, snuggling into Clover’s embrace.

Clover sat up and brushed Marrows bangs out of his face, this kid was the most important, precious, amazing thing in his life. He would do anything for him. He would gladly let a Grimm tear him limb from limb if it meant Marrow would lead a safe and happy life. Not that it would, but ya know.

“Sir?” a quiet voice spoke from behind him. Marrow gasped and buried his face into Clovers chest.

“Harriet.” he said, cradling Marrow close as he stood, “Can I help you?”

“I-I was hoping to speak to Marrow, sir. I-I want to apologize to him.” she quietly admitted.

Clover lifted an eyebrow, “Marrow?” he asked, turning his back to Harriet, “Do you wanna talk to her?”

Marrow looked up at him with an unreadable expression, though it made Clover feel as though he was being searched. “Ok.”

“....Alright. If you say so, don’t worry though, I’m right here.” Clover acquiesced, turning around again to face Harriet once more. “Go on Operative.”

Harriet took a deep breath before beginning, “Marrow. I’m sorry. What I did, it was horrible, and I never should have done it. And I’m so so sorry for hurting you like that and for upsetting you so much. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I do promise to be better in the future. Can you forgive me?” 

Clover looked at Marrow, his face was blank, completely unreadable. “Yes ma’am.” This caused Clover to frown. He was just accepting the apology as if he was ordered to. 

“Oh, uh, ok. I’m-” Harriet faltered before Clover interjected.

“Wait. I’m going to talk to Marrow privately for a moment.” he said, quickly going to Marrow's room and closing the door behind him. He sat next to Marrow on the bed, letting Marrow sit closer to the door so as not to make him trapped. “Marrow. You don’t have to forgive Harriet if you don’t want to.”

Marrow looked at him dubiously, “But, isn’t that what you do when people say sorry?”

“Not always. They can apologize all they like, but if you don’t forgive them, then that's ok.” Clover gently explained, looking at Marrow with concerned eyes.

“But...what if they get mad?” Marrow sounded so tiny when he said that, it broke Clovers heart to hear.

“Then they weren’t really sorry. But Marrow, even if Harriet is mad, or anyone for that matter, then it’s still ok to not forgive them. And I want you to know, I’ll be right there to back you up on this. If she gets mad then tough toots, sucks to be her, but I’m on your side 100 percent.” Clover put a hand on Marrow's shoulder, light enough for him to pull away if he wanted to. “So tell me, and please be honest, do you forgive Harriet?”

Marrow looked at his shoes, his brows furrowed, “......No” he whispered at length.

“Ok.” Clover said standing up, “Then do you want to tell her together?” 

Marrow looked at Clover with the smallest of smiles, “Yeah, I do.”

“Alright then.” Clover returned the smile and offered his hand to Marrow who took it.

Walking out of the room they walked up to Harriet who held a pensive look on her face. Clover lifted Marrow into his arms to get him eye level with Harriet to speak.

“Marrow, what did you want to say to Harriet?” he prompted.

“Miss.Harriet, I-I don’t forgive you. I’m sorry.” he said with a quiet finish.

Harriets eyes widened and she looked a bit shocked before a look of understanding came over her features. She nodded, “Yeah. I understand. I hope you can forgive me someday. But it was probably a bit too much to hope you would today. Thank you for being honest with me though.”

Clover felt Marrow relax against him, and a swell of pride flowed through him. He kissed Marrow's head and put him back on the ground. “Now Harriet. You’re still banned from active duty, and you still have mop duty till further notice. Is that understood?” 

“Understood sir.” Harriet nodded.

Clover sent her off with a wave, “Good, you’re dismissed.”

“Yes sir.” Harriet said, walking back to her room. She didn’t slam the door, so that was a good sign.

“Great job little pup! It takes a lot of bravery to do what you did, you did well!” Elm encouraged, lifting Marrow into the air.

Marrow giggled and his tail began wagging, “Thank you Auntie Elm.” Clover could tell he was still a bit nervous about what just happened but he was glad Marrow wasn’t breaking down again. 

“Look at you being all polite! You’re so well mannered!” she exclaimed, bouncing Marrow in the air, “Clover you totally lucked out with him!”

“Yeah, I definitely did.” he mused as he happily watched Elm play with Marrow. “I definitely did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! If you did feel free to leave a comment below and it makes Daisy78173 and mines day! Have a lovely day y'all!


	8. Iron Hearts and Cold Winters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ironwood sends the Ace Ops on a mission, forgetting that Marrow is five and needs someone to take care of him. Ironwood volunteers so that the Ace Ops (Clover) will stop worrying. Sure he doesn't have any experience taking care of a child, but hard can it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah! New chapter! And hello to James Ironwood!  
> Trigger warning for this chapter: James talks about the abuse that Marrow went through, if that upsets then skip the part when Clover and James start talking about Miss.Eliot. Marrow also mentions his abuse, but it's not detailed until the talk with Clover and James.

James liked to consider himself a calm man. Yes he could have a bit of a temper, but with time he had been able to reign it quite well. So with this calm came an ability to take whatever was thrown at him and roll with it fairly well. It was imperative that as a General, a leader who was in charge of a massive amount of people and weaponry, he was able to adapt. To improvise. To overcome. It also came rather in handy with his role as a headmaster. If he thought the rookies in his armies were bad, the things some of those students come up with were almost awe inspiring. It would have been enough to drive a lesser man near insane, but he was James Ironwood. He didn’t falter.

Though it was nice to have help now and again. Hence his reliance on his Ace Operatives, his cream of the crop, the very best of the best. Clover Ebi, a charismatic, bold, dynamic leader and fighter, with one powerhouse of a semblance. Vine Zeki, calm, cool, collected, the perfect match for another Op. Elm Ederne, bold, brash, strong, she was an unmovable force against the Grimm. Finally, Harriet Bree, fast, hot headed, smart beyond belief, she was the final member of the Ops, and an imperative one. He relied on them to do their jobs to the letter and beyond, just as they relied on him to do the same. Yes, it was good to have such capable people to rely on.

Of course things, as they always did, changed. Though this change had a specific name, Marrow. When James had first seen him he had….mixed feelings. The child had been so small, dirty, and he looked terrified. James had felt anger at whatever or whoever had put that fear in the boy's eyes, fear for the child's well being, and confusion as to why he clung to Clover so tightly. Of course he kept all his thoughts and emotions to himself, only allowing himself to process it all in more depth once he had returned home, settled on the couch with his cat Cali, in his lap and a mug of cocoa in his hand.

Then came the day Clover came to him to say he wanted to keep Marrow, adopt the boy for his own. That honestly hadn’t been as big of a shock as one would imagine. One of Clover's greatest qualities was his heart. It was too big for his body at times yes, but it was always in the right place. He cared deeply for the people around him. It only served to add to his determination in battle, and now it seemed to lead him to this child. It only served to reason that he would grow to love the boy, it was exactly in his nature to do so. James couldn’t quite find it in himself to say no, Clover had a look in his eyes that he had never seen before. There was a fire there, strong and bright, burning powerfully in those teal eyes. James couldn’t say no to that look, so he allowed the adoption. Who knows, it could lead to unforeseen consequences of the best kind, though it could also prove to be the opposite just as easily. James was prepared for that, just as he always had to be.

Nearly 2 months had passed since that day, James hadn’t actually met Marrow in that time. What he knew about him mostly came from excitedly babbled stories from Clover and Elm about how well he was doing. It was endearing really, the way Clover’s face would just light up when he was speaking of Marrow was, and you will find James hard pressed to use this phrase, down right adorable. It was very nearly the same with Elm but there was simply something more….. loving about the way Clover spoke of Marrow, more endearing and close. It was written as plain as day on his face and in the words he spoke that he loved that child with all his mind, body, and soul. 

Today James had called the Ops to his office. There was a top priority mission and he needed all of them for it. When they filled into his office he took notice of a much smaller figure trailing behind them. They had brought Marrow it seems. Unexpected but easy enough to manage, he would simply need to be a bit more careful with his wording.

“Good afternoon.” he greeted, offering a nod once they stood at attention. Marrow was settled at the end of the line up, staring curiously at the team before attempting to emulate them. James felt a smile work it’s way onto his face at the sight, Clover had mentioned his copycat nature in training before. 

“Good afternoon, sir.” Clover greeted, staring straight ahead though James noticed his eyes darting every so often to Marrow, and his lips twitching at the corners every time he did. It was rather difficult to fight a smile with the innocent display that Marrow was currently presenting.

“At ease soldiers.” he set a glance at Marrow to see what the boy would do. James found himself fighting a brief laugh at the clear befuddlement that flashed across the boy’s face before he emulated their pose once more. His feet were a bit to spread apart but that could be fixed later. 

“I have called you here because we have a top priority mission on our hands and I need my top soldiers on it.” he paused briefly, scanning over the operatives, “But they’re currently out on a different mission so I’m stuck with you.” 

He felt a secret swell of pride at the chuckle that his joke brought out. Let it be known that the half metal man hadn’t lost his sense of humor with most of his organs. Looking again at the youngest person currently in the room he noticed his head was tilted and there was a look of confusion on his face. Well, he couldn’t exactly expect someone so young to understand his jokes. Oh well, No harm no fowl, he supposed.

“Now for your mission,” James tapped a few controls on his desk and pulled up a map of the tundra, “there’s a large Grimm nest that’s getting too close for comfort. It has the potential to take down Mantle's outer wall.” James tapped a few more controls and pulled up the video captured of the Grimm nest. “Your job is to work with the hunters out there already and take out the nest before it can get anywhere near Mantle. I’ve sent the coordinates to your scrolls and your transports will be waiting for you outside. Happy hunting.” 

Tapping his desk and residing the hologram he paused, why weren’t they moving? “What is it?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at his suddenly nervous Operatives. Clover was the one to step forward, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck, it was an odd gesture of nervousness on his part. 

“Sir, we-uh-we can’t all go.” James furrowed his brow. This was unexpected, he needed all of them, they were his best hunters. Why on Remnant couldn’t they all go? Clover slightly nodded his head to the side, following the operatives gesture his eyes fell upon the reason one needed to stay. Marrow. Of course. How could he forget about the young faunus? What an idiotic oversight. What should he do? Well, there was only one option that he could see. Even if he didn’t like it.

“You can, and you will.” James commanded, before softening his voice, “You can leave Marrow with me. I'll watch over him, the mission shouldn’t take more than a few hours. I can surely handle one child for that long?” He was more than sure he could handle the kid. He heard enough about Marrow to feel confident he could watch him for a few short hours.

James only began to doubt himself when the others shared looks of uncertainty among themselves. “It’s only a few hours, I am more than capable of handling him in that time.” Clover’s look of concern came as no surprise, being Marrow's father probably gave him more of a reason to be fearful than the others. 

“Are you sure sir?” He asked, eyebrows knitted, “Yeah Marrow is amazing but, and don’t take this the wrong way sir, have you ever actually had to care for a child?” That question was fair, James couldn’t really get angry at it or be offended in any way. Truth be told the closest thing to child care he had ever come to was taking care of his cat, and somehow he felt that that wasn’t quite the same thing.

“I’m sure Clover.” he lied, hoping he sounded convincing, “It will be fine. Besides, I need you and your team on the ground with the grimm. Just tell me what I may need to know about Marrow and we’ll be fine.” He offered Clover a reassuring smile, “He’s in capable hands.”

“Right, of course sir.” Clover didn’t sound convinced, and if the worried look he shot Marrows way was an indicator, he wasn’t feeling too convinced either. “He already had lunch so in about an hour he’ll need a nap, just for half an hour or so.” James had never seen Clover fret before, it was kinda funny. “After that he’ll most likely just color or play with his clay. There are snacks in our kitchen for him, and if we’re not back by dinner time try not to feed him anything with too much spice, we’re still building up his spice tolerance. His bedtime is at 7 and if he starts getting upset just get Noddle. That’s his little dinosaur toy, it's pale blue and has a long neck.”

“Thank you Clover.” James said cooly, already ushering the operatives out of his office.

“Oh! If he has a bad dream just give him a hug and call me!” the mother hen that had replaced Clover worried, “Or call me if you have a question!” James should really get a medal for how well he was fighting back his laughter. “Wait! Wait one more thing!” Clover went around James to where Marrow was, “You be good for the General ok?”

“Do you have to go?” Marrow asked, voice wavering. Oh Brothers please don’t let him cry, James wasn’t really sure of his ability to care for a crying child. Or at least, he didn’t particularly want to handle a crying child. He would if need be, but he would rather not all things considered.

“Yeah sweetheart I do. But hey,” Clover lifted Marrow's chin in an act so tender and loving James literally felt his heart soften, “I’ll be back before you know it. Maybe I’ll bring you back a cool rock or something. Would you like that?” the brunette asked, brushing his nose against Marrow’s. James could remember his own mother doing something like that once upon a time, when he was far smaller and far less…. metallic.

“Mhm.” Marrow nodded before suddenly throwing his arms around Clover's neck, “I love you daddy.” 

“I love you too Marrow, so so much. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” Clover looked about ready to tear away when Marrow softly spoke.

“Pinkie promise?” Oh Brothers if this child did one more cute thing his heart was going to explode, he was sure of it.

“Yeah buddy, pinkie promise.” James watched as they locked their pinkies together, Clover’s engulfing Marrow’s, and shook them once. James didn’t fight the smile that came over his face. The love between these two was nearly palpable. It was enough to warm his partially metal heart.

“Alright I have to go now. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Clover got up, and went to his team, but just as they were about to go, “Oh wait! General Ironwood! He likes arts and crafts so I’m sorry if you find any beads or bits of glitter. Oh, and when you put him down for his nap make sure he has a stuffed animal! And-ack! Elm! Let go of me!” Thank goodness for Elm Ederne. James allowed a small chuckle at the sight of his top operative being dragged down the hall by his teammate. “Marrow! I love you!”

“I love you too daddy!” Marrow’s shout from next to James startled him. When had he gotten there? And how had James not noticed? Soon though, Clover and the rest of the Ace Ops were out of sight. Which left James and Marrow alone. Oh Brothers. 

James cleared his throat, “Would you like to go back to your place and get a few things? My office is pretty dull, I wouldn’t want you getting bored.” Looking down at the boy he was concerned to see him shaking and holding his tail. “Marrow? Is everything alright?” 

The look of fear that Marrow gave him was startling. Was Marrow scared of him? It would make sense he supposed. Clover had mentioned he was shy, and James was much, much bigger than he was, by quite a large margin really. He decided to crouch down to Marrow’s level, or his nearest approximation to it, to try and relieve a bit of his fear. “Marrow it’s okay. Clover’s gonna be back before you know it, alright? It’s ok.”

Marrow just took a step back from him, his eyes starting to water. “M-Miss.Eliot s-said you dock naughty f-faunus.” he whimpered. Now, James had no idea who Miss.Eliot was, but was sure he didn’t like her one bit.

“Well Miss.Eliot is a liar. Marrow, I swear, I have never and will never dock anyone. Ever.” his voice was resolute as he looked into Marrow’s startlingly blue eyes. “Now, while we go get your things, tell me more about this “Miss.Eliot” person.” 

The walk to the Ace Ops shared quarters had been…. enlightening. He always knew Mantle wasn’t as well off as those in Atlas, but to hear about how horribly this child was treated brought a new level of understanding to James, especially for faunus it seemed. He had been fighting to allow faunus into Atlas academy for years, maybe that wasn’t enough. He needed to do more, to find a way to help the faunus in Mantle and Atlas, so that children like Marrow wouldn’t have to deal with these sorts of things. Brothers, Marrow had been dealt the worst hand one can be dealt, born a faunus in Mantle, losing his parents, being sent to a vile excuse of a human being for “care” if it could even be called that. The more Marrow went on about the abuse he suffered at the hands of Miss.Eliot, the more James felt bile rising in his throat. How could anyone do that to a child? Faunus or not.

“Thank you Marrow.” he quietly rasped, fighting tears when Marrow had finished his tale, “It was very brave of you to tell me all of that.” He was going to find that woman and he was going to ruin her life. That was a promise. James had met many horrible people in his life, Arthur, Tyrian, Cinder, Salem, and now Miss.Eliot. Even if he hadn’t exactly met her, he felt he knew enough to count it. She was as much a monster as any of those others in his eyes.

“Thank you Mr.Ironwood.” Marrow said quietly, before beginning to suck on his thumb, his other hand clutching his tail. James felt horrible for the young boy, he didn’t know how to help though, he really wished Clover was here. Surely he would know what to do to comfort the young boy. James sighed softly, maybe it was a bad idea to have taken the boy. But it was too late to go back, and it had led to a rather eye opening look into just how bad it was for the people, especially the faunus, of Mantle. 

“Well, here we are. Let’s get you some entertainment shall we?” James tried to smile at the young boy, hoping it didn’t come off as forced. He opened the door and stepped through the threshold. It was rare he had to visit the Ace Ops quarters, he usually met them in his office or at a mission site, almost never in their own quarters. But it looked largely the same from the last time he was here, same white furniture, same gray rug, same white walls, though he did notice a few pictures hanging up that weren’t there before. And there was a door that deviated from the others, it had the words “Marrows room” stuck to it with colorful foam stickers. James smiled a bit more genuinely, that was pretty cute he had to admit. Marrow went to this door and opened it, James went to the kitchen to grab some snacks for Marrow, he didn’t want the boy to be hungry after all. He quickly, or as quickly as one can when one doesn’t know where anything is, grabbed some food for Marrow. Just a juice box, some baby carrots, a handful of pretzels, and a fruit cup. That should be enough to tide Marrow over until the Ops came back. 

“Marrow?” he called, stepping out of the kitchen carrying the food in a plastic bag he found under the sink, “Are you ready to go?” He strode to Marrows door, standing awkwardly in the frame, not wanting to cross the threshold. Marrow's room was a stark contrast to the common room, the walls were each painted a different color, one was bright yellow, another was dark blue, another was bright red, and the final was oddly black. Peering closer at it the realization hit him that the black wall was actually a chalkboard, how creative. The room had a decent amount of furniture. A bunk bed that only had a top as the bottom part was a desk and drawers, James would be lying if he said his inner child wasn’t a bit jealous. A bookshelf partly filled with childrens books sat in the corner, and a toy chest painted with dancing teddy bears and rocking horses was next to it. There were a few toys and articles of clothing strewn about the white rug, Marrow sat in the center of it all holding up two plush toys up with a scrutinizing stare.

James stifled a chuckle. Ah, the problems of not knowing which toy to bring on an adventure. He remembered his own starry eyed youth, his frequent trips to space in a cardboard rocket with a stuffed companion, or a plastic one depending on his preference at the time. A feeling of warm nostalgia washed over him, when was the last time he had indulged in such a basic level of play? When was the last time he had played period? Did pointing a laser pointer around his room for his cat to chase count? Probably not.

“Having some trouble?” he smiled, “Want a second opinion?” Marrow gave him a pleading look and James was unable to stop the small laugh that escaped him this time. “Alright, let’s take a look.” After a short moment of hesitation, James crossed the short distance between him and Marrow and sat cross legged in front of the child. He took an exaggeratedly close look at the two toys in Marrow’s hands, one was a pastel blue dinosaur with a long neck, That must be Noodle, the other was an orange plush fox with little black paws. 

“I don’t know who to bring!” Marrow lamented, “I wanna bring Noodle cause he’s my best friend, but I also wanna bring Socks because he’s new and hasn’t seen outside yet!” By the Brothers this child was too much. James actually did have a solution to this dilemma though, it was remarkably simple.

“Why not bring them both?” James asked, tilting his head with a smile, “Then no one gets left behind, you have your best friend, and Socks gets some outside time.” 

“But what if I play with Noodle more and Socks feels left out?” Marrow asked, his eyes wide and pleading. James felt like his heart was going to melt, how sweet can one child be? “Or what if it’s the other way around!” Oh to be so young and to have your biggest fear be if one stuffed animal would be lonely. 

“Well, how about I keep whoever you aren’t playing with company? Then no one feels left out.” he reasoned, doing his best to keep his voice serious. The look of pure realization that washed over Marrow’s face was so precious and James was tempted to take a picture of it for Clover, it was gone before he could though. Marrow looked at both his toys, then at James, then back to the toys before he smiled and hugged them both close. How James wished he knew what was going on in that little head, one almost wouldn’t believe such a sweet innocent child held such pain and misery in his past. The boy was damn lucky to have been found by Clover, to have been given a chance to leave his pain and move forward toward the light of the future. 

“Ok.” Marrow said, breaking James out of his thoughts, “I’m ready to go!” The boy stood up and bounced over to a little pink and purple backpack and threw it around his shoulders. James could only assume it was filled with other things to keep Marrow occupied, hopefully he didn’t have too much glitter or too many beads in there. 

“Then let’s be off.” James said, standing up from the floor and stretching. Brothers he was getting old, even if he was only 30, he was getting old. Together he and Marrow strood out of the quarters and back to his office. The journey back was far more cheery than the journey there. Marrow seemed to have warmed up to him for one and he was talking not about his past pain but of his current joy. He spoke of his time with Clover and all the games they played, of his training with all the Ops, it was rather sweet to hear. It was…. rare that he would involve himself in his soldiers personal lives, truth be told this was the closest he had ever been to any of his underlings. His relationship with them was usually strictly professional. How odd it was then that he would suddenly take such an active part of such a large piece of his top officer’s life. 

Once they reached his office Marrow seemed to calm down, taking to sitting by the door and playing with his toys. This allowed James to continue on with his work unabated. He worked for hours in the relative silence, the only thing to break it being Marrow’s playing. Either talking to his toys or the movement of some form of craft he chose to work on. So deeply was he embroiled in his work that he didn’t notice when Marrow quietly slipped from the room. It wasn’t until he took a sudden notice of the complete silence of the room that he looked up from his desk. Upon his first glance across the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but that quickly sent his heart racing. Yes nothing was out of the ordinary, he was alone in his office as usual. Alone, as in no Marrow.

“Marrow?” James called, praying that the young boy was still close by. He must have gone to the hallway, maybe he wanted to play a bit louder and didn’t want to bother James. Yes, that must be it. It had to be it. He walked out into the hallway and, looking down both ways, saw no Marrow. Oh Brothers no. No. Nonono! Oh Brothers Clover was going to kill him. Clover was going to absolutely kill him. Wait. Stop that. He needed to calm down, Marrow can’t have gotten too far. His legs are too small, he shouldn’t be that far away. 

“Marrow!” James cried, beginning to walk in the direction he hoped Marrow had gone. Worry and fear nawed at the edges of his mind, but he pushed them back. He couldn’t allow his emotions to override his reason, not right now. He needed to find Marrow, hopefully before the Ops came back. His pace quickened and he continued to shout for Marrow, praying that the child was alright and unharmed. How in the world had he allowed this to happen? He was supposed to be watching the child, losing him is the direct opposite of watching him. Clover was going to be beyond mad at him for what he did when he found out. Brothers if anything happened to that boy he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. 

“Marrow! Where are you?” he shouted, praying that Marrow would hear him and come back. He walked through what must have been the entire academy in his search. He checked all the training rooms and classrooms, all the club rooms, the entire library, the cafeteria, the courtyard, all the gardens, everywhere he could think of. The only thing he got for his troubles was aching feet and mounting anxiety. Where on Remnant was that boy? He ran his fingers through his hair and sat on a nearby bench. Brothers he was going to be in so much trouble if he didn’t find that child soon. Maybe he should check his office again. There was a chance Marrow had gone back to it while James had been searching for him.

Standing from the bench with a new resolution in his heart he took off towards his office, if he didn’t find the boy there then he was raising the alarm. Maybe he should have already done that, or at least have made an announcement so that he wasn’t the only one searching through his gigantic school. It was something to keep in mind for the future should he ever come across this type of situation again. Not that he exactly planned on losing Marrow again, but his point still stood. 

When he reached his office he took a deep breath and opened the door. Upon entering the space he didn’t see the boy, which sent a wave of despair through him. Time to send out the alarm then. He was about to make the call when a prim and proper voice interrupted him from behind. 

“General Ironwood, sir?” lifting his gaze the first thing he took notice of was a shock of snow white hair, then pale blue eyes and pale skin. He knew those eyes, and he knew that hair.

“Miss.Schnee. I’m sorry but whatever it is will have to wait, I have an urgent matter to attend to.” he didn’t mean to sound so snippy when he spoke. He was simply under quite a bit of stress at the moment and he didn’t particularly fancy anymore.

“Yes I am aware sir. I believe I have it with me in fact.” Had it with her? What on Remnant was she talking about? “Marrow you said your name was?” she asked, tilting her head to speak to the person behind her. 

“Is he mad?” a small, quiet, wonderfully familiar voice spoke from behind her. Oh thank the Brothers! She had Marrow! He was ok!

“No. He doesn’t appear to be.” she said cooley, “You can come out.” Seeing Marrow step timidly out from behind Winters form he felt a crashing wave of relief flow through him. He didn’t look injured, and he seemed to be perfectly fine. Thank the Brothers.

“Marrow!” he cried in joy, rushing toward the boy but slowing his movement when Marrow flinched. “Thank goodness you’re alright! You scared me half to death! You can’t go running off like that again, do you understand?” Marrow looked at the floor and nodded, poor kid, maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so abrasive in his words. “Marrow I’m sorry, I’m not mad I promise. You just really really scared me is all. Please, try not to do that again alright?” he said in a far softer voice, gently tilting Marrows head up. 

“Ok, I won’t. I’m sorry Mr.Ironwood.” Marrow said softly, looking close to tears and holding his tail in his hands. James’s eyes softened, he hadn’t meant to scare the poor kid. He put a hand on Marrow’s head and gently ruffled his hair, standing as he did so.

“That’s good. I may be old to you, but I’m still too young to be having heart attacks.” he joked, hoping to get a smile out of the boy. It seemed to work too, as Marrow offered the smallest of smiles, warming James' heart.

“Miss.Schnee.” he finally addressed the second year next to him, “I must thank you. I was turning this school upside down trying to find him.” he offered the girl a grateful smile. She may not know it right now, but she may very well have just saved his life. 

“It was no trouble sir. I found him wandering the hallways, I couldn’t simply allow him to wander through the academy alone.” Winter looked to Marrow, her eyes softening slightly as she did, “Marrow, I believe you have something for the General do you not?” 

Marrow perked up at that, “Oh yeah!” he took his backpack off his shoulders and placed it in front of James, “You looked really tired and you didn’t eat anything. I was worried so I wanted to get you some snacks!” opening the backpack revealed an assortment of snacks and some juice boxes. “But I got kinda lost on my way back here, Miss.Winter found me though! And she brought me back!” Marrow looked so proud of himself, James couldn’t find it in himself to be upset. It was an unbelievably kind gesture on Marrow’s part, truthfully speaking, it was the most kindness he had been shown in some time. James smiled at Marrow, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Thank you Marrow. That was very sweet of you and I really appreciate it.” he said taking the snack filled backpack and offering the snack to Marrow, “Would you like to share them with me? I don’t know if I can eat these all by myself.” Marrow looked at James with surprise before he grinned, his tail wagging, and took a pack of cheese crackers. James’s smile grew and he turned once more to Winter, “Would you like some Miss.Schnee?” It wasn’t a fully serious question, but he was still happy to share the kindness Marrow had shown him.

“I’m fine sir. I have to get back to class anyway. It was a pleasure to meet you Marrow. Good day sir.” she saluted and left, the echo of her heels following her as she went. James glanced down at Marrow, “Oh well, more for us.” he shrugged with a playful smile. Marrow grinned and took a bite of one of his crackers, James took a pack of cartoon shaped gummies. Looking at the colorful packaging, he was brought to the realization that he couldn’t quite remember the last time he had ever had anything like this. How easy it was to forget the things that used to bring you joy. 

The two enjoyed their snacks together, and James had to admit, getting a little food in him did make him feel better. When was the last time he ate? He wanted to say breakfast, but he couldn’t be sure if it was breakfast today or yesterday. Probably best not to dwell on it, he was eating now, even if what he was eating couldn’t exactly be considered a “meal” in truth. In this time he kept a far closer eye on Marrow, who seemed to take an interest in James’s work. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, peeking over the edge of the headmaster's desk. James looked down at the boy, making a quick decision and lifted him onto his lap. “I’m filling out reports and going over lesson plans.” he explained, putting the finishing touches on his current report before going to the next. This was what most of his day consisted of, reports, lesson plans, meetings, lots of calls, more meetings, field plans for his troops, and even more meetings. His life was rather dull all things considered. Things like rest and relaxation were, more often than not, replaced by coffee and the occasional office nap when he couldn’t make it home. 

“Sounds boring.” Marrow said simply, drawing a rye chuckle from James. “It is.” he confirmed, “It really is.” Marrow didn’t move from James’s lap, electing instead to watch him work and occasionally put magnets on his robotic arm. Not that James minded this too much, really it was kind of amusing to watch the fascination play out across Marrows face. That made an odd sense of warmth bloom in James’s chest, Marrow trusted him, at least enough to know James wouldn’t hurt him. Plus with Marrow on his lap, he couldn’t pull another disappearing act. So that was a definite plus. 

James didn’t know how long they sat together, him completing his work, and Marrow cuddling with his stuffed animals. James yawned and looked down at Marrow to ask if he wanted to take a break, he was shocked to see that Marrow had fallen soundly asleep where he sat. James definitely had to take a picture of this, Clover would lose his mind. Deftly reaching over to his scroll, as quickly and quietly as he could, he snapped a few pictures of the sleeping faunus on his lap and sent them to Clover. He was sure the Ace Op would love it when he got a chance to see it. Actually, speaking of the Ace Ops, their mission should be done by now. It was getting dark and he should be hearing back from them any minute. 

A notification on his scroll stole his attention away from the screens on his desk. Looking at the device, he saw it was a text from Clover, it was simply to tell him the mission had gone well and that they were on their way back, and that Marrow looked absolutely precious. James let out a quiet sigh of relief, it was always a risk to send people against the Grimm, no matter how well trained they were. So James was always more than pleased when things went well, when casualties were avoided and he didn’t have to do the worst part of his job. Those calls would never, and he doubted could ever, get easier. But he didn’t have to dwell on that today, because today everyone had made it back safe and sound. James texted him back that he was expecting the report in his email by tomorrow, and that things had gone fairly well with Marrow. Which wasn’t a total lie if you thought about.

About an hour later Clover and his team walked through the door, they looked tired but Clover's face just lit up when he saw the sleeping faunus in James’s lap. James smiled and gestured to Marrow with a “are you going to help me?” kind of look. Clover smiled and nodded walking towards the two. But before he could reach them Marrow stirred, opening his eyes he gave an adorable yawn and rubbed his eyes.

“Misser Ironwoo?” he slurred, blinking blearily at James, “Di I fall aseep?” James grinned and tenderly petted Marrow's head. 

“Yeah, you did buddy. But look who’s here!” he said gesturing to Clover and the other Ops. 

Marrow slowly blinked at them before it seemed to hit him who he was looking at. “Daddy!” he cried, hopping off James’s lap and rushing into his father's waiting arms. Their hug was heartwarming to see, the way Clover held Marrow close as though he hadn’t seen the boy in years and the way Marrow’s smile lit up his entire face. It was positively precious. 

“Marrow! Hey sweetheart!” Clover grinned into Marrow's hair, “Did you have fun with the General?” Of course he did. Since when was nearly giving a man a heart attack not a good time?

“Yeah! He let me put magnets on his robot arm!” Marrow grinned, snuggling into Clovers embrace in a show of affection that had James biting back a fond smile.

Clover looked at Marrow with wide eyes, “He did? Really?” Clover turned his gaze to James who nodded, letting the tiniest of smiles break through. “Well,” Clover said, turning back to Marrow, “that was very nice of him.”

Marrow beamed, “Yeah. And daddy, I made a new friend!” When had-oh! He must mean Winter! Joy.

“You did?” Clover asked, looking a bit surprised, “”Who’s that?”

“Her name is Winter! She helped me find Mr.Ironwoods office when I got lost!” Marrow's cheerful declaration sparked a sudden shift in the mood of the room. James felt dread fill him, he may as well kiss his life goodbye. It was nice knowing everyone, but it was his time to go. 

Clover paused, an unreadable expression on his face, “......lost?” he asked, his voice equal parts confused and serious. These were his final moments he could feel it.

“Yeah! Mr.Ironwood wasn’t eating so I went back home to get him snacks! I got lost on my way back though, but Miss.Winter found me!” He prayed Marrow would stop talking. Maybe he could salvage something from this, probably not though.

“So.. he wasn’t with you at all?” Clover asked, James saw the Ops eyes flicker to him. There was an anger there that James had never seen in the man. It terrified the General more than any Grimm ever could.

“No. He was busy, I didn’t wanna bother him.” Marrow said, hammering the final nail into James’s coffin. Welp, goodnight everybody it’s been a great run.

“I see. Well, I’m very happy you’re ok. Now I have to stay and talk to the General about the mission for a minute. Elm do you think you can take him for a sec?” Please don’t leave him alone with this man.

Elm silently picked up Marrow, sent an apologetic look to James, and just like that James was a lone with Clover. It was silent, dead silent. He had to keep calm. He had to regain control of this situation, it was an accident after all. Marrow had just disappeared without a word, what was he supposed to do? Clover would understand, he had too. He was a reasonable man, he would understand. It would be fine.

“Now Clover,” He began, breaking the silence, “I can explain.”

Clover glared at him, “He was alone. In Atlas. When you volunteered to watch him. You’re lucky Winter found him and not some racist, or a pedophile! What the fuck James?” 

Oh he was fucked. Clover never swore, ever. Though he was a bit ticked that Clover would show him such blatant disrespect. It hadn’t been his fault that Marrow had left without saying anything. “I didn’t know he left, he never told me he was leaving. I’m sorry, but nothing happened. And I understand you’re angry, but I still expect you to show me the proper respect when you address me. It’s either General or Sir to you, understand?” He stood a little taller and squared his shoulders.

“Oh so sorry SIR, guess I’m just a little mad that you LOST MY SON!” Clover yelled at him. “AND YOU HAD BETTER BE FUCKING SORRY! WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM OUT THERE! DO YOU EVEN COMPREHEND HOW PISSED I AM RIGHT NOW? Oh sorry, I mean how pissed I am SIR?” 

James took a deep breath, “Clover-”

He was cut off by Clover,” NO! You are damn lucky he’s not hurt or worse! If anything, ANYTHING, had happened to him under your watch. Well, let’s just say, no doctor on Remnant could put you back together.” 

This was a losing battle. James could only agree and hope this was over soon. He would have to talk to Clover about this tomorrow though. “Right. Understood.”

“And why was he gone in the first place?” Clover fumed. Hm, hadn’t Marrow just told him earlier? Odd.

“He was worried because I wasn’t eating. So he left to get me food.” it brought a smile to his face to think about. It had been such a sweet gesture, and even if he nearly had a heart attack because of it, he still appreciated the gesture.

“Aww!” Clover cooed, some of the anger in his eyes ebbing away, “Isn’t he the sweetest?”

Oh thank the Brothers he wasn’t going to kill him. “Yes he really is.” he said fondly. But a sudden thought occurred to him, a reminder of some of the things Marrow had said to him. “He actually told me some interesting things while he was with me. Has he ever mentioned a “Miss.Eliot” to you?”

A dark look came over Clover's features, telling James that Marrow may have spoken of her before. “He mentioned her a few times. Didn’t go into too much detail, but he told me she ran his old orphanage which is enough information for me.”

James was almost hesitant to tell him everything, partly because he wasn’t sure he himself could bear to repeat it. “He told me some rather…… interesting facts about her.”

Clover's eyes narrow, “Tell me.”

“Very well. Just be warned, you won’t like hearing this.” James took a deep breath and began. “He told me that she would tell all the faunus that if they misbehaved she would call me and have me dock them for one. She would lock him and other children into what he called “the dark room” which was apparently a pitch black room that they would be locked in for days at a time. She would beat the faunus for seemingly no reason, lock them out in the cold whenever she felt like it. She apparently threw some children down the stairs if they were “bad”, though Marrow said he could never figure out just what was “bad” or what was “good”. Neglect was rampant, babies were thrust upon the older children to care for. She wouldn’t buy supplies for them, diapers, formula, basic needs for infants.” James felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes recounting this. It wasn’t everything. But it was enough.

“Fuck.” Clover said simply, running a hand through his hair. “I knew it was bad, but I never could have guessed-fuck.”

“Yes. I know.” James breathed, sinking into his seat and rubbing his hands over his face. “I’ll be looking into this. Hopefully I can get her out of that place and locked in the deepest, darkest cell Atlas has to offer. I’ll also need to find a better place to put all those kids under her…. I hesitate to call it care.” 

“Brothers.” Clover breathed, “I wish I had known sooner.”

James cast sympathetic eyes one his subordinate, “Clover, you can’t have known. I suggest though, that you go be with Marrow. He’s missed you.”

Clover looked at him, sighed, and nodded “Yeah. Your right. Good night sir. Let me know what you find, and if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“I will. Good night Clover.” he dismissed, “Oh and Clover?”

“Yes?” he said, turning back to James from the doorway.

“You're doing a wonderful job with him. Tell him I said good night.” James said, offering Clover a small smile.

Clover returned James’s smile and nodded, his eyes soft, “Thank you sir, I will.”

James sagged in on himself once Clover had left, now allowing a few tears to fall. Brothers this had been an exhausting day. He needed to go home and cuddle with his cat, that usually made him feel a bit better after long days. With that thought in mind, James powered off his desk, locked his office up, and headed home for some much needed R&R.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! It hurt a lot to write that part with James and Clover talking about Miss.Eliot. She'll get whats coming to her though, so don't worry.


	9. New Developments and Friendly Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ironwood gets a second chance at taking care of Marrow. He completely forgot about a meeting he had with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 9! Hope you enjoy the fic! It's full of fluff, cuteness, and all that good stuff!! There are mentions of child abuse in the way of James mentioning Miss.Eliot, but there is no detail.

“His nap time is at 2pm, he sleeps for half an hour at most.” Clover listed off, glaring at James. “He is NOT to leave your sight the entire time he is with you. If we’re not back by dinner you are to feed him the food that is in the fridge at our place at 5pm.”

James sat and listened as Clover rambled on about every little thing he was to do while Marrow was in his care. All the Ops were needed for another mission and James had once again volunteered to care for Marrow. It took a little bit (literal weeks worth) of convincing to get Clover to leave Marrow with him again, not that the General could blame him considering how last time went, but he was more prepared now. He wouldn’t be focusing so much on work and he even had a rather pleasant day planned out if he did say so himself. 

“Understood. I also have the email you sent me about all of this. I assure you, nothing like what happened before will happen again.” he said calmly, getting up from his seat and walking to Clover. “He’s in good hands, I promise.” He tried to offer Clover a reassuring smile but only got further glaring from his operative. Hopefully this time James could prove he was a capable and responsible caregiver and win back Clover's trust in him. Clover had been rather….. standoffish since he last left Marrow in his care. James almost feared that Clover had lost some respect in him. He hoped to regain that today. 

“If I find a single scratch on him or find out that you lost him again….” Clover trailed off, leaving the threat hanging, much like how James feared he would be, should there be a repeat of his past mistakes. James gulped slightly, Clover would no doubt hold true to this vague threat should James not be up to par. 

“I understand. I’ll send you regular pictures throughout the day so that you know he’s with me.” James assured. “We’re going to have a lovely day together, I’m taking him to one of the gardens in the school. It should be fun.” He smiled and turned to the boy standing at Clover's feet, “What do you think Marrow?” The child was wagging his tail and his eyes shone with excitement. The sight warmed James’s heart. He could do this. Now that he had an idea of what to expect it should go far smoother than last time.

“I’ve never been to the gardens before.” Marrow smiled, clutching his toy dinosaur (Noodle right?) to his chest. James’s eyes softened and he crouched down to Marrow’s level, ruffling his hair. This boy was just too precious sometimes, and James would protect his smile with his life. 

“Well let’s fix that shall we?” James grinned before standing once more and looking at his Ops. He did feel a bit bad making them all go and leave Marrow behind, but they were needed. He only hoped that they would all return safe and sound. It was always a risk when he sent the soldiers on missions. He tried to keep them as safe as he could with his rules and regulations, but those could only do so much. “You all have your mission, I’ll keep you updated on the home front. Happy hunting Operatives.” 

Clover sent him a final glare and crouched down to Marrow’s level, “I gotta go now buddy, but I’ll see you tonight ok?” Marrow quickly threw his arms around Clover, hugging the teal eyed man tightly. Clover hugged him back, placing a kiss atop the young faunus's head. “I love you honey, I’ll be back tonight. But I bet you’ll have so much fun you won’t even miss me.” 

“I’ll miss you a bunch! I know I will!” Marrow cried, nuzzling into Clover’s neck. Clover smiled and rubbed up and down Marrow’s back soothingly. Those two were just so sweet sometimes, it made James want to visit his parents. It had been some time since he had last seen them.

“I’ll miss you a whole bunch too Marrow.” he pulled back from the hug, putting his hand on Marrow cheek. “Hey, can I have a little smile to send me off?” he asked, nuzzling his nose against Marrow’s. Marrow giggled and kissed Clover cheek, giving a final hug before Clover had to leave.

“I love you daddy.” the boy said as they finally pulled apart. Elm quickly moved forward and scooped Marrow up, giving the giggling faunus a big kiss on the cheek. 

“We’ll see you tonight little pup! And keep an eye on the General, he’s gonna need some help relaxing. I’m not really sure he knows how to.” she grinned, offering a cheeky wink to James. The General chuckled as flashbacks to a certain dusty old crow began playing in his mind. 

Marrow's wagging tail picked up speed and he gave Elm a little salute, making James bite back a “daww” at the sight. Maybe he would teach the boy how to properly salute later today. Who knows? It might be fun.

Soon the Operatives left, each waving and saying their goodbyes to Marrow and James. Clover and Marrows shared one last hug before the leader of the Ace Ops had to leave. He gave James the “I’m watching you” gesture, and left with his team. Leaving Marrow and James alone.

“So Marrow, do you have everything you need?” James asked, turning to the child. Marrow enthusiastically nodded, tail wagging up a small breeze. “Wonderful, now let’s g-” James was cut off by his scroll beeping in his pocket. “Oh, one moment Marrow. Let me just take this call.”

Marrow nodded and settled down to play with his dinosaur while James took the call. “Ironwood.” he greeted formally, expecting a subordinate or a spam call. 

“James! How are you?” a very familiar voice spoke from the other line. “It’s been sometime! But I wanted to let you know Oscar and I just landed in Atlas and are on our way to you.” James felt his brain stall for a moment. What did he mean he was here? Why was Ozpin here? When-oh. Right. He had scheduled a meeting with Ozpin for today. How could he have forgotten that? He had just been so focused on Marrow that he completely forgot. 

“Oz! Good to hear you landed safe and sound! Say, you wouldn’t mind having our meeting in the gardens would you?” James asked, a nervous smile planting itself on his face. Brothers how could he have forgotten this? He had made this meeting weeks ago. 

“Of course not James! That sounds rather lovely in fact. Oscar could use the break from the cold.” Ozpin chuckled, and James could hear the sound of a baby giggling in the background. He smiled at the sound. He could handle this. It’s not like it was a business meeting. He was just meeting with Ozpin to catch up. The gardens were probably a better place for this meeting than his office.

“Wonderful! Do you still know you’re way around the school or do you want me to meet you outside?” James asked before adding, “I also have someone with me, one of my Ace Operative’s children. His name is Marrow. I hope that’s alright.” 

“It’s no problem at all James! Maybe he and Oscar could become friends.” Ozpin chuckled. “Just let me know which garden we’ll be meeting in and I’ll find it. I’ve been here more than enough times to know my way.” 

James chuckled himself and motioned for Marrow to follow him, “Alright, wonderful. I’ll text you the spot, see you soon Oz.” 

“See you soon James.” Ozpin said cheerily, ending the call. James quickly texted him the garden's location and began walking towards the garden.

“Who was that?” Marrow asked, trotting along at James’s side. James smiled down at him and patted his head.

“That was my friend. His name is Ozpin and he has his son Oscar with him. I hope you don’t mind them joining us.” James said. He doubted Marrow would mind if they joined but it never hurt to ask. 

“Are they nice?” Marrow timidly asked, looking at James with concerned eyes. 

James chuckled, “I know Ozpin is very very nice. I’ve known him for years. As for Oscar, I’ve never met him. But I’m sure he’s as nice as a baby can be.” It hit James at that moment that he really hadn’t seen Ozpin in sometime. The man had a son, he had retired as headmaster leaving Glynda in charge, and he was traveling the world. He felt happy for the silver haired man. To finally be free of Salem after who knows how many lives. To finally be able to simply exist in the world he had fought so hard to protect. There was still work to do of course, but Ozpin was more than entitled to a break after all he had been through. 

Marrow's excited voice broke him out of his revery, “A baby? Really?” James smiled down at him. Brothers this child was so sweet. His eyes lit up with excitement, and his tail was wagging furiously.

“Yes. I believe he’s only a few months old, so when you meet him be gentle alright?” James said gently, carefully lifting Marrow into his arms. The child had started to lag behind, his little legs unable to keep up with James’s longer strides. 

“Ok! I’m good with babies! I’ll be gentle!” Marrow beamed, his tail wagging up a small breeze. James laughed, and ruffled Marrow's hair playfully, drawing giggles from the boy. He had no doubts on how gentle Marrow would be with little Oscar. He was too sweet to hurt anyone. The pair walked a bit further before they finally reached a set of glass double doors. Opening the doors with his key card, James walked into the room. This one was one of the larger gardens in the school. It had a little bamboo forest towards the back, a small pond (more like a large puddle really) with benches around it, a little bridge over the pond, and flowers dotting the grassy floor. It was one of James’s favorite gardens in the school, mostly for the clearing he knew was hidden in the bamboo forest. He liked to go there to relax and get away from work whenever he got the chance too. 

“How do you like it Marrow?” James asked, putting the boy down. Marrow didn’t respond right away, just looked down at the ground with trepidation.

“You’re gonna stay right?” Marrow asked anxiously. “You’re not gonna leave?” James was both confused and concerned. Why on Remnant would he ask that? Why would James leave?

“Of course I am. Why?” James asked, kneeling down and tilting Marrow's face gently toward him. Marrow's tail was curled around his leg and he didn’t quite meet James’s eyes. 

“I had a family. They left me at a park. Told me it was a game, that I had to stand very still.” Marrow said quietly, his bottom lip trembling slightly. James had only ever wanted to hurt someone so bad when Marrow had told him about Miss.Eliot. Who in their right mind just abandons a child in a park? Who abandons a child period? It wasn’t right to just up and leave someone like that. Yes he understood sometimes you needed to give up a child for both your and their own good, but to willingly take a child like Marrow into your home and then abandon them in a Brothers forsaken park? He could never, and he doubted would ever, understand people like that. 

“I won’t leave Marrow. I’ll stay with you the whole time we’re here. And when we leave, I’ll be with you. I’m not leaving your side until Clover comes to get you. I promise.” James said, pulling the boy into a firm hug. The hug lasted for a time, and if James’s shirt got a bit wet well, he wasn’t going to say anything. Eventually Marrow pulled away, rubbing his eyes and sniffling slightly. “Do you feel better?” James asked, rubbing up and down Marrow's arm.

“Mhm.” he nodded, though he still looked upset. James’s brows furrowed and he ran his hand over Marrow's hair. Marrow tried to offer a small smile to James but James could see how forced it was. An idea occurred to him. How had James’s own mother cheered him up when he was little? 

“Marrow?” he asked, a playful smirk making its way onto his face. “Do you want to know how my mom made me feel better when I was sad?” Marrow gave him a curious look but nodded, making James grin. “Well first he’d give me a big hug.” and he pulled Marrow close one again, hugging him tight and settling him on his lap. “Then she’d kiss my head.” and he kissed the top of Marrow's head. “And finally she’d….” he trailed off and lifted his hand into the air. Marrow watched the hand and a look of realization crossed his face. He began giggling and wiggling in James’s lap.

“Noho.” Marrow giggled, trying to twist away from James’s grip. 

“You said you wanted to know how my mom used to cheer me up. And this is how she did it. After she kissed my head she would…. tickle me!” he cried, wiggling his fingers into Marrows belly, making the child laugh and bat at his hand. James grinned as he tickled Marrow silly. It was good to hear the boy laugh so much, even if it was technically unwillingly. 

“Do you feel better now? For real this time?” James asked, spidering his fingers along Marrow's ribs. 

“HEHEHE YEHES! I FEEL AHAA I FEHEL BETERHEHER! HAHAHA!” he howled, pushing and hitting James’s hand. James stopped his tickling and hugged Marrow once more before putting him back on the ground. 

Marrow giggled and got to his feet, and turned to James grinning. “Mr.Ironwood?” he asked, his head tilted innocently.

“Yes Marrow?” he replied, mirroring the young fanuses motion. He was blind sided when Marrow suddenly tapped his arm and yelled “Tag! You’re it!” before running off, giggling. James chuckled before taking a quick look around, just to double check no one was there. When he saw no one he stood, stretched, and took off after the child. He was a bit surprised when he didn’t immediately catch him. Marrow was a shockingly fast runner. The pair ran around the garden for some minutes, going around the pond, over the bridge, through the bamboo forest, and all over the grounds, laughing the whole time. Eventually, James managed to catch Marrow and quickly blew a raspberry into his belly, drawing loud laughter from the child. 

“Well, isn’t this a sight.” a chuckling voice spoke from behind James. Whirling his head around, he felt his face flush at the sight of a very amused looking Ozpin. 

“Ozpin!” he cried, a bit too squeaky. “How long have you been standing there?” If the floor could swallow him whole at the moment then that would be just fine. 

“Only a minute or so.” he smiled, “I take it this is Marrow.” Ozpin craned his neck slightly to get a look at the child in James’s arms. 

“Yes. Marrow, this is my friend Ozpin. Ozpin, this is Marrow Ebi, Clover Ebi’s son.” he stated, fully turning to face his long time friend. “Say hello Marrow.”

“Hi.” Marrow said shyly, before burying his face in James’s neck. James smiled apologetically and rubbed up and down Marrow’s back.

“He’s shy, but I’m sure he’ll warm up to you soon.” Ozpin simply chuckled and waved him off.

“It’s fine.” he smiled easily, “Marrow? Would you like to meet my son?” Ozpin's smile turned a bit softer when Marrow turned toward him and bit and nodded shyly. “Lovely. This,” he bounced the surprisingly quiet baby in his arms, “is Oscar. He’s only a few months old but he’s very social. I’m sure he’d love to meet you.” 

James set Marrow on the ground lightly ruffled his hair, and smiled reassuringly at him. Marrow shuffled a bit on his feet as Ozpin knelt down and brought Oscar a little closer to the young faunus. “Do you know how to hold a baby Marrow?” Ozpin asked, his voice kind and gentle. James can’t quite remember a time he had seen Ozpin look so…. soft. Maybe children just brought out that side of him. After all, he had been a father many times before.

“Uh-huh. Miss.Eliot gave the babies to the other kids a lot.” Marrow said, his eyes never leaving the little freckled baby in Ozpin's arms. Ozpin shot James a confused look, but James just shook his head. They could talk about that later.

“Well, then I guess that means you're an expert.” Ozpin chuckled, though now it sounded slightly forced. “Would you like to hold him?” the former headmaster asked, slightly gesturing to Oscar, who had been chewing on his tiny fist through most of this conversation. 

Marrow looked at Ozpin with wide eyes, his tail beginning to wag, “Yes please, sir.” Ozpin smiled and carefully handed little Oscar over to Marrow. The young faunus was being more gentle than James had ever seen him and his tail was rapidly picking up in speed the longer he held the baby. “He’s so tiny.” Marrow whispered in awe, his eyes lit up like holiday trees. 

Ozpin grinned at the pair, “Why don’t you two go play over there?” he said pointing to a nearby patch of grass. “James and I need to have some boring grown up talks.” Marrow nodded enthusiastically but was stopped by James before he could go anywhere.

“Hold on. I have to take a picture for your father, prove I still have you.” he quickly snapped a picture of the pair and let them be on their way. Ozpin and James sat on the ground in silence for a time, simply watching Marrow play peek-a-boo with Oscar or move his arms around like he was telling a grand story to the five month old. 

“So,” Ozpin said, first to break the silence, “who is Miss.Eliot?” James sighed, wishing this wasn’t what Oz had led with. But nonetheless he soldiered on, retelling the story of Miss.Eliot’s hell house. It didn’t affect him as much now. It still disgusted him to no end, but after having to tell the story over and over to Clover, the police, and a private investigator it didn’t hurt as much. When James had finished the tale he looked at Ozpin's face and was glad the man had not been holding a glass. He was sure it would be shattered by now. 

“Oz?” James questioned. He had only seen Ozpin this angry one other time and that was during his fight with Salem. “Are you alright?” He placed a hand carefully on Ozpin's shoulder, squeezing slightly.

“I will never understand how some people can be so cruel. Even after thousands of years worth of experience....” Ozpin said at length, a sad tone in his voice and god like fury in his eyes. “To harm so many, to harm children. There is a special place in hell for people like that.” 

James couldn’t help but agree. He wanted to see Miss.Eliot pay for all she had done, not just to Marrow but to all those poor children in her clutches. “I completely agree. There is already an investigation underway. She shouldn’t be running that place much longer.” James looked back to the children and smiled as Marrow was spinning in circles and Oscar seemed to be laughing. He didn’t want a woman-no not a woman-a monster like Miss.Eliot harming anymore children like them. He wouldn't allow it. Not on his watch. Not anymore.

“Good. You will let me know how that all turns out won't you? And you will call if my services are needed at all?” As Ozpin spoke his eyes briefly lit with the fires of magic, sending a very clear message to James. Telling him that, should he need to simply make this monster disappear, he would be completely game. 

“I will. Now let’s move off such topics. Tell me Oz, how have things been on the road with Oscar? Have you been having fun traveling the world? Seeing the sights and what not?” James hoped his less than stellar change of topic would work. He didn’t wish to dwell on the past too much. They were headed towards a brighter future and James wanted to focus on that. 

“It’s been lovely we-OSCAR DO NOT PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH!” Ozpin yelled over to the boys, the youngest of whom seemed to be trying to eat dirt while Marrow attempted to stop him. “Apologies James, I believe it’s about time to feed him. Do you mind at all?” Ozpin asked, already standing and taking a bottle of baby formula out his backpack.

“I don’t mind, in fact I believe Marrow usually has a snack around this time.” James replied, checking his scroll for the list Clover had sent him. He also noticed he had several texts from Clover and Elm, most seemed to be along the lines of “Marrow is so cute! Who’s that little one he’s holding?” and “NEW NEPHEW! I CALL DIBS!” James chuckled and put his scroll back in his pocket. “I know a lovely spot just over there that would be perfect.” James stood and gestured for Ozpin to follow. 

Once they had gathered the boys, the four of them headed over to the bamboo forest, settling into James’s favorite clearing. Ozpin was spoon feeding Oscar, sometimes making airplane noises or cleaning dribbles from the babies chin. Marrow sat next to him, munching on some baby carrots and apple slices, his tail wagging lazily back and forth. James was content to enjoy the quiet moment. It was so rare he got to enjoy those nowadays. It always seemed like something was happening, so still moments like now were to be cherished. 

The rest of their day was spent with the boys playing, occasionally being joined by Ozpin, James, or both. The two adults had been catching up on all that had happened since they had last seen each other. James was heartbroken to hear that Oscar was found by Ozpin, alone on his doorstep in the middle of the night. The only thing on him had been a warm blanket and note with the baby’s name on it. Ozpin though was in tears over James’s story of losing Marrow and the subsequent terror that Clover presented himself to be as a result. 

By the time they left, all were in good spirits and Marrow seemed to have grown rather fond of Oscar. James had sent a great deal of pictures to Clover over the day, his favorite being the one that Ozpin had taken of him with Marrow and Oscar held in the air, one in each hand. He had basically been bench pressing them and, if their shrieks of laughter were anything to go by, they had loved it. James too had been smiling so hard his cheeks had hurt. He wanted to print that photo out, it was too good to not hang on some wall or something. That one and the picture of them sending off their little paper sailboats (Marrow had paper in his backpack and Ozpin taught them all how to make the little boats) were going on some wall in his house.

They entered James’s office and Marrow quickly set about playing with his clay, probably making something for Clover or one of the other Ops. Oscar was settled down on a blanket next to him and was given a little green bear to play with, though he mostly just seemed to chew on its ear. James and Ozpin sat at the desk, idly chatting and sipping on hot cocoa James had made. 

“What are you drinking?” Marrow asked, looking at the two men curiously, “It doesn’t smell like the stuff daddy usually drinks.” 

“It’s hot chocolate. Would you like some Marrow?” Ozpin asked, offering Marrow a sip from his mug. Marrow approached, looked at James who nodded and gestured for him to go ahead, and took a cautious sip. His eyes lit up and his tail began wagging up a small breeze. “You like it?” Ozpin asked with a chuckle.

“Mhm! Can I have some more please?” the young faunus asked, shooting the biggest puppy dog eyes James had ever seen in the Generals direction. James felt himself incapable of saying no to such adorableness.

“For being so polite, you may.” James smiled, heading to his coffee maker and setting about making another batch. He let it cool for a minute before giving it to Marrow. “Now be careful, it’s still a bit hot. I don’t want you getting burned.” James warned, lightly tapping Marrow's nose and making the boy giggle.

“Thank you! I’ll be careful, I promise!” the child said before carefully walking back to his arts and crafts project with the mug. 

James smiled warmly at him and returned his attention to Ozpin, who was giving him an odd look. “What is it?” he asked, “Is something on my face?” 

“No, nothing is on your face.” Ozpin chuckled, “You’re just… good with him. I think you’d make a good father.” James was taken slightly aback before he chuckled. 

“I appreciate it Oz but I think I have enough children as it is.” He was surrounded by teenagers and their hormones constantly, he didn’t want to go home and deal with that. He was perfectly happy with his cat, thank you very much, he had actually been thinking about getting a second.

“I understand. It’s part of the reason I took Oscar in. I missed the noise, my home is too quiet on my own, and traveling by oneself can be so lonely.” the silver haired man admitted, gazing fondly at the little baby in the corner. He appeared to be chewing on his foot, quite happily actually. 

“How long are you planning on staying in Atlas? I could take you and Oscar around the city if you like.” James offered, taking another sip of his drink. He really would like the chance to spend more time with his old friend. Sure they didn’t always see eye to eye, but James respected him a great deal and certainly enjoyed his company. 

“Not too long I’m afraid, a few days at most. I don’t fancy keeping Oscar in such cold weather for very long. At least not until he’s a bit older.” Ozpin hummed, “But if you would like then I wouldn’t mind a little tour around the city. I’ll admit it has been some time since I really looked around Atlas.” 

James nodded, “How about tomorrow? It’s supposed to be fairly warm out, for Atlas at least.” 

“It sounds like a date.” Ozpin chuckled, holding his cup up in a toast. James followed suit and clinked his own glass against Ozpin's, the pair taking a drink and sharing a laugh. 

Things were fairly relaxed after that. Ozpin and James chatted while James knocked out a few reports and mission plans. Marrow and Oscar giggled and played in the corner, Marrow's tail wagged almost nonstop the entire time. Soon, after a quick phone call, they all ate and it was about time for the Ops to return. Through most of the day James had, as agreed upon, texted pictures of Marrow to Clover. Most of them had Oscar in them as well, and Elm really seemed to take to calling Oscar her “new nephew”. It was rather endearing. 

“James you have to see this.” Ozpin whispered just as James finished composing his latest email.

“What is it?” James asked, powering off the desk and following his friends line of sight. It was a miracle James’s heart didn’t give out right then. In the corner, curled up on Oscar's little blanket, were a sleeping Marrow and Oscar. The two were hugging each other, seemingly inseparable. “Oh my Brothers.” the General breathed, already taking out his scroll.

“I already took a picture.” Ozpin whispered, “I sent it to the others. Qrow sent this in reply.” Ozpin held up his scroll to show a picture of two young girls who seemed to be playing dress up with Taiyang. Tai was wearing a hot pink tu-tu and fairy wings with very sparkly makeup all over his widely grinning face. The two girls wore what appeared to be their guardians' clothes, the taller one wore Tai’s shirt, and the smaller one had on Qrow’s. 

“Ozpin if I see one more adorable thing today I’m going to die, I just know it.” James said quietly while snapping a quick picture of the sleeping pair to send Clover. He heard Ozpin softly laugh next to him and pat his shoulder.

“I am very much in the same boat my friend.” he agreed, his eyes softer than his voice as they looked at his son. James smiled gently and prepared for the flood of texts Clover and Elm were sure to send his way over this. 

He and Ozpin didn’t really speak much after that. Both men were too scared to wake the sleeping angels in the corner. James just quietly replied to emails and Ozpin messed about on his scroll. About half an hour of this and James got a text from Clover letting him know the mission had been a success and they would be back within the hour. James smiled, hopefully Elm would get to meet Oscar. He would love to see her reaction to her “new nephew” in person.

“Oz.” James whispered, “We should wake the boys. The Ops will be back soon and I’d rather Oscar not be woken up by their noise.” Ozpin nodded and walked over to Oscar gently detangling him from Marrow and lifting the baby into his arms. Marrow stirred when Oscar was taken and he woke up, slowly blinking his eyes and yawning. As Ozpin softly bounced and rubbed Oscars back to wake him, James went over to Marrow and picked him up.

“Tired.” Marrow slurred, resting his cheek on James’s shoulder. James rubbed Marrow’s back in small circles and smiled at him.

“Yeah I know. But your daddy’s gonna be back soon, I thought you might want to be awake for that.” James hummed, lightly scratching Marrow's scalp. He noticed Marrow's tail start to wag and he pushed himself up in James’s arms, looking the General in the eyes.

“When’s he gonna be here?” Marrow asked, looking far less tired that he had a second ago. 

“Soon. Within the hour even.” James chuckled. He couldn’t deny the small swell of pride that filled his chest. He had managed to keep Marrow with him throughout the entire day. Clover was sure to forgive him for his… previous mistakes regarding Marrow's care. 

Soon, both Oscar and Marrow were fully awake and playing on the floor. Marrow’s tail was wagging furiously the entire time and he kept glancing at the door, waiting for his father with baited breath. James sent a picture of Marrow looking at the door to Clover with a “Are you really going to keep him waiting? Look at his sad face.”

About 2 minutes later Clover stepped into the room looking slightly breathless. James stifled a laugh and was about to greet him when Marrow jumped up and shouted, “DADDY!” But before the boy could launch himself at Clover, Elm shoved him out of the way while barrelling into the room.

“Where are my nephews!?” she cried, looking excitedly around the room, a wide grin planted on her face. 

“Auntie Elm!” Marrow cheered, running to Elm who scooped him up and placed a big kiss on his cheek. 

Elm beamed at him, “Well here’s one nephew, but where’s the other?”

James chuckled, “Ozpin, these are my Ace Operatives. Clover Ebi, Harriet Bree, Vine Zeki, and Elm Ederne. Operatives, this is my good friend Ozpin. He was the headmaster at Beacon and the one to end the war against Salem.”

“Oh hush. We all worked together to end that war, it wasn’t all me.” Ozpin said, though James could see the light embarrassed blush making its way onto Ozpin's pale face. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, and it’s a pleasure to meet this little one. From the pictures the General sent us, he and Marrow are thick as thieves now.” Clover said, deftly lifting Marrow from Elms arms and cuddling him close. 

Elm piped up next, “Might I meet him? I would like to be properly introduced to my new nephew.” Ozpin laughs and turns to show more of Oscar to the group.

“His name is Oscar. Please be careful, he’s not a big fan of loud noises.” Ozpin said softly, bouncing Oscar a bit in his arms. “I’m sure he’d love to meet his,” he chuckled, “new aunt.”

“May I hold him?” Elm asked, her voice quieter than it had been a moment ago. When Oscar giggled and reached for Elm Ozpin smiled and handed him over to her. Elm grinned wide and said, “Hello little one! I’m Elm! Your new auntie! It’s nice to meet you!” 

“Careful Elm.” Clover chided slightly, “He’s a baby, he’s not as tough as Marrow.”

“Yeah!” Marrows cheered, lifting his arms to show off his “muscles”. “I’m super tough!”

“Yeah you are!” Clover chirped, kissing Marrow's cheek and tickling under his arm. Marrow let out a stream of bubbly giggles and put his arms down, prompting Clover to move his tickle target to Marrow’s belly. The young faunus fell into a bout of helpless laughter as he was tickled relentlessly by Clover.

James laughed a bit from his spot at his desk, “Clover. I hope this makes up a bit for Marrow's first time with me.” He gave a smile to the operative who, despite the giggling child in his arms, still managed to look rather terrifying as he glared at James. 

“It shows you’re not totally incompetent when it comes to childcare. But no, it doesn’t make up for that. It’s gonna take a lot more than one babysitting session for that.” Clover said, a cocky smirk planted on his face.

“But there will be more?” James grinned, not bothering to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice. 

Clovers smirk grew, “Yeah. He likes spending time with you and he seemed to have a pretty good time today. But I’ll double check.” he turned to Marrow, “Hey kiddo, you wanna hang out with the General again?” 

Marrow grinned and nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Uncle Ironwood is the best!”

James felt like he’d been shot, only, not in a bad way. Marrow had just called him uncle. He was an uncle now. “Did-did you just-?” 

Marrow’s eyes suddenly widened, “Is that ok? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say that, it just came out!”

James stood and quickly stopped Marrow’s apology before it could keep going, “No no! Marrow it’s fine! I’d-I’d be honored to be your uncle.”

Marrow beamed at him, his tail wagging rapidly, “Ok Uncle Ironwood!”

The moment was cut short by a sudden cry from Oscar. The baby had tears in his eyes and he was fussing quite a bit in Elm’s arms. She was quick to return him to Ozpin, who whispered soothing words to Oscar rubbing his back.

Ozpin gave an apologetic look to the others, “I’m sorry to leave so suddenly, but it’s getting rather late and I need to get this little one to bed. It was lovely meeting all of you.” He turned to Clover and smiled, “I hope our boys are able to meet again. This was the fastest I’ve ever seen Oscar warm up to someone that wasn’t me.” 

“Same here sir, on both fronts actually. It’s about Marrow’s bed time and I’d love for Oscar and him to play again. If you’d be okay with giving me your scroll number, maybe we can work something out.” Clover softly grinned, pulling out his scroll and holding it out to Ozpin. 

After giving Clover his number, Ozpin bid a final goodbye and left the room. He was soon followed by Clover and the other Ops, Marrow waving at James over Clover’s shoulder. Once James was alone he sighed, a glow in his chest and a smile on his face. This had been an excellent day. He couldn’t wait for the next one like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *here in the garden intensifying* Poor Marrow T-T at least he's with Clover now. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was fun to write!! Have a lovely day!!


	10. Sweet Gestures and Shocking Moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elm and Vine get a chance to take care of Marrow. Vine ends up getting left alone with the little Faunus and the others come back to something very unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter 10!! This was an interesting chapter to write, I've never written for a character like Vine so I hope ya'll enjoy!!!

Vine wasn’t as unfeeling as he seemed. Yes he didn’t show as much emotion as most others, but that doesn’t mean he was unfeeling. He just showed his emotions in other ways. He let out aggression in battle, he would meditate if he was confused or upset, if he was happy he would spend time with others. It was as simple as that. He didn’t talk about his emotions nor did he show it on his face. Unless it was a particularly strong feeling, but that didn’t happen often. It was mostly the occasional smile or frown really.

Thus far, there were really only two things, or rather people, that had made him show much emotion; they were Elm and Marrow. His partner was such a ray of sunlight in his life, a ball of positivity and energy. Yes she could be a bit too loud, too aggressive, or just too much in general, but it was part of what made her so endearing. She was his opposite in every way and she brought out the very best in him. He liked to think he did the same for her. 

Then there was Marrow, who had certainly come as a surprise. Not a bad one mind you, just a surprise. The small boy brought his own unique energy to the group and a certain shift in their dynamics, one Vine wasn’t entirely against. Marrow seemed to bring them closer together than ever before. His innocent trust in them and the bond he had forged with each of them was changing things for the better in his eyes. Vine had become an uncle seemingly overnight while Elm became his aunt. In this child's eyes they were his family. 

Perhaps they were all family to Vine as well. He had always cared for his teammates but something about Marrow calling them his family made that feeling more solid, more real. The feeling was certainly confusing, and while Vine had meditated on it for sometime, he still had yet to come to a definite conclusion. One thing he knew for certain though, Marrow was his nephew, and Vine would protect him at all costs. 

Today the young faunus had been left with Vine and Elm, as Clover had to go on a mission with Harriet in the tundra. They had stayed behind to watch the young faunus and were currently engaged in an intense game of hide and seek. Marrow and Vine were the hiders and Elm was the seeker. Vine had hid in the closet of his room behind a few of his uniforms. He had no doubt Elm would find him quickly, he hadn’t exactly hid well. Though the child giggling behind him might also give their position away. 

“You must stop giggling little one. She will find us.” he whispered. Marrow covered his mouth to muffle the sound of his laughter. The young boy had decided to hide with Vine in the closet. Vine wasn’t quite sure why, but Marrow seemed to be having fun so it was fine. He would also be lying if he said he wasn’t having fun. He couldn’t remember the last time he had played hide and seek, if he had at all. His parents had been quite protective growing up, and they didn’t really let him play with other children. 

“Vine, Marrow! Where are you?” he heard Elm call out from the common room. “I’m going to find you!” 

Vine was amused by her playfulness, it was one of his favorite things about her. She could turn almost anything into a game or challenge, such as ‘Who can kill the most Grimm” or “Catch But With Marrow”. Marrow always loved that one, even if it gave the captain a heart attack every time they played it. Vine normally wouldn’t have gone along with such a game, but Elm’s insistence and Marrow’s puppy dog eyes were too formidable a foe for him to resist. 

He suddenly heard Elm enter his room and shuffle around, he pressed Marrow a bit behind him hiding him from view should Elm open the door. He heard her rustle around in the bathroom, and peeking through the slots in his closet he saw her looking under the bed and poking at the lumps on his mattress. Soon the closet door was opened with a flourish. “Found you!” Elm called, a wide grin on her face. 

“Indeed you have. Congratulations.” Vine said cooley, keeping Marrow behind him and out of sight. The child was keeping surprisingly quiet, Vine was impressed. “Have you found Marrow yet?”

“Not yet, any idea where he might be?” Elm asked, a playful spark in her eyes. Vine laughed a bit internally, he knew exactly where Marrow was, but he wanted to keep the game going for a bit.

“No, we agreed not to let each other know where we would hide. We didn’t want one to get caught and tell you where the other was.” Vine explained. No one could say he was a bad liar, even if it did feel bad lying to his partner. Marrow needed him though, and he would come through for his nephew, even if it meant he had to lie to Elm.

Elm sighed and snapped her fingers, “Drat. Oh well, I’ll find him yet!” 

Her exalted cry brought a small smile to Vines face, she was always so energetic. She truly gave Marrow a run for his money. “Where have you searched thus far?” 

“I looked in the kitchen, the common room, Clover’s room, Harriet's room, my room, and your room. I’m checking his room next.” Elm listed, finishing with a clenched fist and determined look. 

“Why didn’t you check there first? It would be the most obvious spot wouldn’t it?” Vine said, hoping she would leave and he could leave Marrow to hide.

“Exactly! It’s the most obvious place! Marrow’s too smart to hide there! I’ll check of course, but I’m pretty sure he’s not there.” Elm shrugged, “Would you care to join me?”

“I think I will check the other rooms again for you. Just to double check.” he offered, moving to further shield Marrow from Elm’s view.

Elm fixed him with a suspicious look, “Are you feeling alright? You seem off.”

Curse her innate ability to read him perfectly, “I am perfectly alright.” 

But he must not have said it convincingly enough as Elms eyes narrowed further and she put a hand on Vine’s shoulder, pushing him slightly to the side, and sticking her head further into the closet. Vine heard Marrow laugh from behind him before he ran out of the closet and darted through the door. 

Elm fixed Vine with an unreadable look. “You lied to me Vine.”

“He made me.” Vine calmy defended himself, he wasn’t sure what to do right now, Elm didn’t seem mad so that was a good sign. “I was powerless to his puppy dog eyes.” 

“There will be consequences.” she said with narrowed eyes before running off after Marrow. 

Vine could only speculate on what those consequences might be. She knew far more about his weaknesses than most. Like his love of cookies, the only spot where he was ticklish, and his hatred of cheese, so her arsenal for payback was increased tenfold compared to their teammates. It was something he would have to worry about later, for right now Marrow's shrieking laughter was calling to him for aid. When he exited the room he found Elm chasing Marrow throughout the common room.

“Uncle Vine!” Marrow cried dashing towards him, “Save me!” 

Vine smiled softly when Marrow hid behind him with a giggle, “I’m not sure I can save you from Auntie Elm, she’s rather persistent.” 

“No one can save you from me little pup! Get over here!” Elm playfully growled, snatching Marrow up and blowing a raspberry into his cheek. Marrow was shrieking with laughter, and the happy sound warmed Vine’s heart. This child had truly begun to blossom since he came into their home all those months ago. Going from a child scared of his own shadow to the giggly, joyful boy before him. It was wonderful to see the change, especially since he had played a part in it. Maybe not a particularly large part but a part nonetheless.

Snack time came soon after, and Vine was a bit hurt and rather confused to see Elm giving Marrow the cookies he had been saving. Were these the consequences she had mentioned before? It was hard to tell, after all they would all hide cookies from him fairly often. So she might not have known he was saving those. It was the sound of Elm’s scroll ringing that interrupted his train of thought. She gave Vine a confused look before taking the call.

“Hello?....Yes sir. ….Of course sir. …..Right now? …...Yes sir. …..Alright see you soon sir.” she ended the call and sighed. “That was Ironwood. He needs me for a mission in Mantle. Think you can hold down the fort on your own?” 

“I will be fine. I have Marrow to keep me company after all.” he said, settling a hand on Marrow’s shoulder.

“Do you really have to go Auntie Elm?” Marrow asked, setting his puppy dog eyes on Elm. 

“Oh little pup. I’m sorry but I do. I’ll be back before you know it though, and I’m sure you’ll have a ton of fun with Uncle Vine!”

Marrow frowned and held his arms up for a hug, one Elm was more than happy to give him. She lifted him into her arms and squeezed him close. She gave him to Vine and sighed, “I’ll be back soon you two! Don’t have too much fun without me!” 

“Bye Auntie Elm!” Marrow called from Vine’s arms.

“Be safe.” Vine added before Elm, with a final wave, was gone.

A brief silence filled the room, “Let’s watch a movie.” Vine suggested, grabbing the remaining cookies and walking to the common room. 

Settling down on the couch, Vine put on some children's movies (after looking it up, lest there be a repeat of Bumbi) and sifted through reports and news feeds on his scroll while Marrow snuggled into his side. He only half paid attention to the plot, some girl was singing about how she wanted more in her life, a common subject to sing about in children's movies. Half way through the film Marrow fell asleep, and Vine decided to turn the tv off and bring him to his room. Marrow let out a soft protest at being moved but quickly settled in Vine’s arms. As Vine set the young faunus down on his bed he noticed it was starting to rain outside, rumbles of thunder rolling through every now and again. Vine hoped the storm wouldn’t get too bad, his teammates were still out there after all.

He sat in relative silence for a time, simply sipping on tea and reading a book. Outside the storm gradually became worse. Wind grew fierce, the rain pelted the windows, and thunder and lighting grew in frequency. He was tempted to call his teammates and make sure they were ok, a great many things could happen in the rain, or snow rather, since they were out in the tundra. He didn’t want any of his teammates hurt. He restrained himself though. They were adults and could take care of themselves, they didn’t need him mother-henning them. A particularly loud crack of thunder startled him slightly, nearly making him drop his book.

“Goodness.” he muttered.

Another loud boom and a sudden blur of movement caught his eye. Turning his head he saw a trembling Marrow standing next to the couch, unshed tears in his eyes. Vine immediately put his book down and went over to the young faunus, “Marrow? What is it? Are you alright?”

Marrow opened his mouth to speak but another clap of thunder cut him off. The child whined at the noise, the tears beginning to fall now. “Uncle Vine?” he whimpered, a blanket pulled tight around him and Noodle held in a death grip against his chest.

“Come here Marrow.” he said calmly, opening his arms for the boy. Marrow sniffled before dashing into Vines arms sobbing softly into his chest. Vine held him close, carding his hand through the boy's hair and gently shushing him. “I’ve got you, it’s alright, I’m right here, it’s ok.” he said softly, pressing a kiss into his hair. 

The thunder outside rumbled once more, causing Marrow whimper again and cling tighter to Vine. The Operative’s heart broke for the child, remembering how scared he used to be of thunder in his childhood. He remembered what his father had done back then and hoped it would work for Marrow too.

“Marrow?” he asked, tilting the boy's face to him, “I would like to try something. It might make you feel better. Would you like to try it?” 

Marrow nodded, sniffling softly. Vine carefully stood, holding Marrow close to his chest. He walked to his room and grabbed a pair of headphones he kept for when his teammates got too loud and he couldn’t leave. He connected the headphones to his scroll and pulled up some relaxing music, placed the headphones over Marrows ears, and hit play. Marrow slowly relaxed against Vine, the calming music and gentle caresses from Vine lulling him back to sleep. 

Vine softly shuffled back to the couch, careful to not jostle the precious bundle in his arms. He slowly sat back down on the couch and grabbed his book. He continued reading while rubbing Marrow’s back or fiddling with his hair. He didn’t know how long he sat like that, with Marrow softly snoring on his chest. He must have dozed off at some point, because he woke at the sound of the door opening and voices speaking rather loudly.

“Look at them! They’re so cute!” a voice that sounded like Elm cooed.

“I’m not the only one who thinks this is super weird right?” That was Harriet.

“Nope. This is beyond weird.” and there was Clover.

He cracked his eyes open and looked at his teammates, “What is weird?”

The trio jumped back, Clover and Elm sharing a sheepish look and Harriet trying to act casual. Clover was the first to speak, “It’s uh, it’s nothing. This was just, kinda the last thing I was expecting to see today.”

Vine quirked an eyebrow, “I don’t understand. Marrow was scared, I comforted him, simple as that.”

Clover rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, “You just… never struck me as the affectionate type.”

“I’m not, but if my nephew needs comfort then why would I deny him that?” Vine countered, his tone even and calm.

Clover seemed to think for a moment before slowly nodding, “Yeah. That’s a fair point.”

“Still weird though.” Harriet mumbled.

Elm grinned, taking what Vine was sure to be the millionth picture of them. “I think it’s sweet!”

Clover leaned over to look at her scroll, “Send those to me, I wanna remember this.”

“Yeah me too.” Harriet piped up.

They all froze when Marrow mumbled something in his sleep. He let out a breath before snuggling closer to Vine. Vine gently rubbed Marrow’s back, a smile finding its way onto his face. Glancing back at his teammates he noticed Elm looked ready to burst with joy, while Clover and Harriet looked as though they had just learned the secrets of the universe and didn’t know how they felt about it. 

“What?” Vine questioned with a quirked eyebrow, “Am I not allowed to smile?”

“No! No, you can smile all you like.” Clover was quick to amend, “It’s just so odd to see you so… so…”

“Soft.” Harriet finished for him.

“Yeah! Soft!” Clover said with a snap of his fingers, before turning back to Vine and holding his hands in front of him. “Not in a bad way though! In a good way!”

“Clover chill.” Elm chuckled. “He gets it.”

“Right.” Clover sheepishly laughed, “Sorry.”

“What happened anyway?” Harriet asked, crossing her arms.

“The storm scared him.” Vine said simply. 

“Oh, alright. Well, I’m gonna go to my room and… process all of this.” the shortest member of their team stated before slipping past everyone, closing her bedroom door softly behind her.

Clover sat next to Vine, deftly taking Marrow from his grip and scratching his scalp. “Wake up buddy. It’s time to get up.”

Marrow stirred slightly, blinking sluggishly “Daddy?” 

“Hey there buddy. Did you have a nice nap?” Clover asked, rubbing Marrows back and smiling at him.

“Mhm.” Marrow sleepily nodded, snuggling into his father's grip.

Clover chuckled and lightly jostled Marrow, “Come on, don’t fall asleep on me sweetpea.” 

Marrow groggily protested, “No, ‘m sleepy.”

“I know, but we’re gonna have dinner soon and I think you might want to be awake for that.” Clover coaxed, rubbing a knuckle against Marrow's cheek.

Marrow yawned but clambred off his father, plopping down next to him and leaning against his side. “Ok, but I’m still sleepy.”

Clover and Elm chuckled, “Well,” Elm grinned, “I know just what to do.” she quickly scooped Marrow up and tossed him in the air, caught him, and tossed him again.

Marrow began giggling as he was thrown, “Auntie Elm! No! I’m awake!”

“Are you sure, you still seem sleepy to me.” she laughed, lifting him and spinning them both around. 

Vine shook his head with a fond look in his eyes. Elm was so good with children, if she ever wanted kids then she would make the best mother. Vine was sure of it. She was caring, kind, fun loving, patient, and more than loving. She was so warm, gave the best hugs, and always seemed to know just what to say to cheer someone up or make them laugh, it really was a gift. 

“You’re staring.” Clover said, snapping Vine out of his thoughts.

“Am I?” he asked, not taking his eyes off his partner and nephew.

“Kinda yeah.” Clover chuckled, “Everything alright?”

“Everything is fine.” he murmured.

“Ok, if you say so.” Clover said in a teasing tone.

Vine was almost tempted to roll his eyes. His teammates often teased him and Elm about their “relationship” outside of work. They were simply good friends, no more no less. There were no romantic feelings between them. Yes he held a certain amount of respect for her and her abilities, but that was it. It was simply respect for her nothing more. 

“Wakey wakey little pup!” Elm chirped, bouncing Marrow up and down in her arms. The young faunus was giggling his head off with his tail wagging up a storm. 

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” Marrow called, wiggling in Elm’s grip.

“Are you sure?” Elm asked, suddenly stopping the bouncing, “Are you really sure?”

“Yes!” Marrow giggled. 

“Ok then.” she grinned, dropping him back onto the couch next to Clover. 

Clover chuckled and ruffled Marrow's hair, “I gotta do my report, you stay out here with Elm and Vine alright? I’ll be back in a bit.” 

“Ok! I love you daddy!” Marrow beamed, hugging Clover tightly.

“Love you too sweet pea.” Clover smiled, hugging the child back just as tight.

When Clover left, Marrow jumped on Vines lap, his tail wagging furiously, a bright grin on his face. “Can I play on your glowy arms?” he asked with an innocent tilt of his head.

“Well…” he started, trying not to look too deeply into his puppy dog eyes. 

“Of course you can little pup! Can’t he?” Elm exulted, clapping a hand on his shoulder. 

He sighed, looked at Elm’s cheerful expression, looked at Marrows puppy dog eyes, and sighed again. “Very well. Just be careful.” 

Marrow giggled rolling off Vine's lap and stood on the couch, “I will be!”

Vine activated his semblance and put his aura hand against the wall. Marrow clambered onto the glowing limb and began swinging and climbing on it. Vine smiled softly, this boy was just too precious sometimes. So innocent and sweet, Vine would protect him and his adorable smile with his life. There was no question about that. 

“Hey Vine could you-OH MY STARS!” Clover cried upon stepping back out into the common room. “What are you doing?”

Marrow answered before Vine could, “We’re playing!” 

“I occasionally let him play on my aura limbs. He seems to enjoy it.” Vine further explained, gesturing to a giggling Marrow with his free hand.

Clover’s face morphed from worried, to confused, to concerned, and finally to a begrudging acceptance. “Alright. Ok. Just please be careful.”

“We will be.” Vine and Marrow said at the same time, Marrow saying so cheerfully while Vine said so calmly.

“Hey Clover have you-” she took one look at the scene before her and turned around, “Nope, I can only handle so much weirdness in one day. I’m out.”

“I’m gonna stay here for a minute.” Clover sighed, sitting down heavily on the recliner.

“Do as you will.” Vine hummed, watching Marrow intently.

A few minutes past in relative peace, Marrow was having a blast, and Elm was chatting idly with Clover, who seemed to still be processing everything he had seen that day.

“Daddy, uncle Vine, auntie Elm! Watch me!” Marrow said, climbing up on top of Vines aura limbs and beginning to walk across it like a balance beam.

Clover and Vine said “We’re watching.” in unison, briefly looking at each other before turning back to Marrow.

The child made it about three quarters of the way across before his leg slipped and he began to fall. Vine saw Clover shoot out of his seat but he was faster, shooting his other aura limb out and catching the boy before he hit the ground. Vine brought Marrow back to the couch, settling the boy down into the crook of his arm. 

“I believe I told you to be careful.” he gently chided, looking over the boy for any injuries. 

“Sorry uncle Vine.” Marrow said, sadly looking at his feet.

“Now now, there’s no need for that.” Vine said, softly lifting Marrow chin so he could look into the boy's eyes. “You almost made it. That’s an accomplishment on its own.” 

When Marrow still looked upset, Vine wiggled a finger into his belly, drawing little happy giggles from the boy. He smiled a bit, the bubbly giggling from his nephew warming his heart. He glanced at Clover, who seemed to be doing a pretty good impression of a fish, his mouth opening and closing with wide eyes. Vine smirked internally, it seemed that Clover was seeing a whole new side of him. 

“Is everything alright Clover?” Vine asked, with Marrow still giggling in his grip.

“F-fine. Everything’s fine.” he stammered, coughing awkwardly into his fist and rubbing the back of his neck. 

“That’s good.” Vine stated, removing his tickling hand from Marrow's belly. “And how are you feeling now little one?” he asked the still giggly faunus boy.

Marrow grinned at him and threw his arms around his neck, “Better.”

Vines eyes softened as he hugged his nephew back, “I’m glad, but let’s not try that again for now.” 

“Ok!” Marrow bubbled, bouncing off Vine and running to his still gaping father. “Daddy, you wanna play with me?” 

“Uh,” Clover shook himself out of his shock, “yeah. Yeah let’s go play.”

“Yay!” Marrow cheered, grabbing Clover's hand pulling him out of the chair and to his room. Clover chuckled as he was pulled along. Vine stared after them, his smile more internal now. 

“So, penny for your thoughts?” Elm’s voice spoke from next to him. 

“I suppose I’m simply enjoying having Marrow here.” Vine replied. 

“Yeah.” Elm agreed, her voice soft, “I am to.”

The sound of a door opening drew their attention, “Are you done being weird?” Harriet asked, poking her head out of her room.

Elm rolled her eyes playfully, “Yes, we’re done being weird Harriet. It’s safe to come out.” 

“Good.” she chuckled stepping into the common room.

In that same moment Clover and Marrow left his room with a number of craft supplies and a few stuffed animals. Clover set the supplies down on the table while Marrow carefully placed the stuffed animals (Noodle the dinosaur, Socks the fox, and a new wolf plush Vine didn’t yet know the name of) on the couch. 

“Uncle Vine, auntie Elm do you wanna make stuff with me and daddy?” Marrow asked, a hopeful spark in his puppy dog eyes.

“Of course we would! Right Vine?” Elm grinned, looking expectantly at Vine.

“Of course.” he stated, taking a piece of origami paper and beginning the process of making a crane. 

“What are you making?” Marrow asked, crawling up next to Vine. 

“A paper crane. I could show you how to if you like.” he placed a hand on Marrows head, “It could be dangerous though, paper cuts are no laughing matter.”

Marrow giggled before placing his fists on his hips, “Danger’s my middle name!”

“That’s a lie.” Vine said flatly, “Your middle name is, cutie-pie.” he smiled, booping Marrow on the nose. 

Marrow giggled, which proved to suddenly be the only sound in the room. 

“What?” he asked, looking at the gaping teammates. “What is it?”

“Nothing!” Elm squeaked, “Everythings fine! Right guys?” she elbowed Clover and shot Harriet a glare.

“Yup, totally fine.” Clover said, his voice sounding a bit strained.

“I’m gonna go lay down.” Harriet mumbled, plodding back to her room and closing the door behind her. 

Vine blinked and returned to his crane, explaining the process to Marrow who copied his movements with his own paper. Why everyone seemed to be losing their minds over him and Marrow he truly didn’t understand. What was so strange about him playing with his nephew? His teammates could be truly bizarre at times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!! If you liked the fic leave a comment below or kudos!!! Have a lovely rest of you day/night!!!


	11. Family Trips and Painful Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marrow finally convinces the Ace Ops to let him come with them on a routine patrol mission in Mantel. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11! Hooray!!

“Are you sure you want to go?” Clover asked for the hundredth time.

“Daddy. I’m sure.” Marrow deadpanned, putting Noodle into his little backpack.

Clover took a deep breath, “Ok, if you're sure.”

“I am.” Marrow replied, giving Clover a flat look.

Clover whined slightly and second guessed his decision yet again. Today he and the other Ace Ops were going down to Mantle, and they were bringing Marrow. It was Marrow’s idea to come along, he had been begging for a while to see what they do for work. Today they were going on patrol in Mantle, and it was decided he could come; with Grimm levels having been low lately so it was considered low risk. They had double checked with the General of course and he had agreed, so long as they kept a very close eye on the child.

Today was the day of their patrol and while the young faunus was excited, Clover was worried. Mantle didn’t hold the best memories for Marrow and Clover didn’t want to trigger anything for the child. It was too late to take it back now though, so the Ace Op took his son's hand and walked out to the common room where the others waited.

“You ready to go little pup?” Elm asked, quickly scooping Marrow up and tossing him in the air.

Marrow giggled and nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah!”

Clover chuckled, his worry abating somewhat. “Everyone else ready?” A chorus of yes’s rang out and Clover squared his shoulders, standing at attention. “Alright then Operatives. Let’s headout!” 

The group headed out to the hanger where their transport waited, and found the General waiting for them. They walked up to the man and stood at attention, Marrow joining them at the end of their line. 

“Good afternoon Operatives.” he said, smiling a bit when he noticed Marrow, “And guest.” A brief laugh rippled through the group with a chorus of “Good afternoon sir”s. The General nodded at them, “You all know your mission, and I’ve sent further details to your scrolls. Be careful, be smart, and be safe. Happy hunting Operatives.”

“Yes sir!” they said in unison, saluting crisply, Marrow following suit, though a bit less proper. 

They were soon sat on a transport to Mantle, Elm and Marrow playing patty cake while the others idly chatted or looked through their scrolls. As they flew down to the city Clover felt his worries rise once more. Would Marrow really be ok? The last time the boy had been down to Mantle wasn’t exactly under good circumstances. What if there was another Grimm attack? What if something happened to Marrow? He could never forgive himself if anything happened to his son. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Harriets voice piped up from next to him.

“Just… a bit worried. About bringing Marrow I mean.” he admitted, glancing over at his son who was still playing with Elm. 

Harriet awkwardly patted his arm, “We’ll keep a close eye on him sir. It’ll be alright.”

He sighed but offered a brief smile to the shortest of their team, “Yeah. You’re probably right.  
Guess it’s the dad in me ya know? Can’t help but worry.”

“We’ve got your back sir, and we won’t let anything happen to him.” she reassured, smiling softly at him.

Clover nodded, “Right. Thanks Hare.”

“Anytime sir. Anyways, looks like it’s just about gameface time, you ready?” she asked, standing up and offering her hand to him.

“Nope.” he chuckled, taking the offered hand and standing. “But let’s do it anyways.”

Everyone stood as they landed, Marrow was held tight by Elm and Clover pushed his worries to the side, his mind focusing on his mission. Patrols might be safer than most missions but they still needed to be cautious and smart, lest they be caught off guard by Grimm or a particularly good fighter on the streets. 

“Alright everyone, here’s how it’s gonna go. Elm you take the north quadrant, Vine you take the south, Harriet takes the east, and I’ve got the west. I want you all in constant contact, is that understood?” he commanded, easily moving from “worried dad mode” to “business mode”. There was a chorus of “Yes sir” from the group as they saluted him. “Then why are you still standing here? Move move move!”

The group quickly took off to their respective quadrants, leaving Marrow with Clover. “What are we gonna do?” the small boy asked excitedly. “Are we gonna stop a crime? Or take down a pack of Grimm?”

Clover chuckled and shook his head, “No, probably not. But what we are gonna do is walk.” He took Marrow’s hand and began his patrol. The brunette knew he wouldn’t be doing this patrol as quickly as he usually did, but if he got more alone time with his son then he wasn’t gonna complain.

“Is this what you do all day?” Marrow asked incredulously.

Clover chuckled at his tone, “No, we do a lot more than this. This is actually the boring stuff, ya know, usually.”

“Usually?” he asked, his tail wagging slightly, “So we might do that other stuff?”

“Yeah, we might do the other stuff.” he laughed, ruffling his hair. 

Things went slowly, as expected. Just the occasional drunk thus far, and they were easy enough to deal with. Marrow was starting to get tired, and Clover decided to take him back to the transport so he could take a nap. On the way there he got a call from Harriet saying she finished in her sector and was gonna rest in the transport for a moment before heading back out. He gave her the go ahead and told her he would meet her there.

It was near the transport that it happened, Marrow’s hand suddenly stiffened and when Clover looked down the boy looked suddenly terrified. Clover stopped walking, let go of Marrow’s hand, and crouched down to the boy’s level. 

“Hey, you ok buddy?” he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

Marrow didn’t answer, just shook his head as tears sprung up in his eyes. “No.” he whispered, “Nonono.”

“Marrow? Marrow honey what is it? No what? Come on sweetheart talk to me.” Clover asked desperately, placing a hand on Marrow’s shoulder. Marrow jerked away and kept up his whispering, he looked behind Clover, as though the Ace Op wasn’t even there. The boy choked out a sob and took off in the opposite direction. “MARROW!” Clover shouted, immediately shooting off after the child. Marrow proved to be too fast though and Clover lost sight of him. 

“MARROW?” he called, fear settling itself deep into his heart. “MARROW? MARROW WHERE ARE YOU?” He was panicking, he needed to calm down, he needed to call for backup. “Everyone! I lost Marrow! He just got really really scared by something and took off! I lost sight of him in the northwest quadrant!” 

“I’m on my way sir.” Harriet’s immediate reply came from his ear piece. 

“I’ll be there soon, hold tight Captain! We’ll find him!” Elm spoke up next.

“I will be there as soon as I can.” Vine said calmly.

Clover took a deep shaky breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Thank you. I have no idea where he is so we’ll need to fan out.”

“Just stay calm sir, we’ll be there soon.” Harriet said, already sounding like she was running to him. 

“Yeah.” he breathed, leaning against a nearby wall. “Yeah, ok.”

Sooner than Clover could take another breath Harriet was there, her semblance still sparking around her. “Hey, you holding up alright?” she asked, concern clear in her eyes.

“That doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is finding Marrow.” he stated. “I can freak out or whatever later. How fast do you think you can scour this place?”

“Fast enough.” she smirked, “We’ll find him sir. I promise.” 

“Right. I’ll go northwest, you go southwest.” he said, offering his teammate a two finger salute and jogging off.

As he jogged through the city calling for his son his mind couldn’t help but wander. Why had Marrow run off like that? What had scared him so much? Did he see something that triggered him? Brothers what was he going to do?

~

Harriet really hoped she could find the kid. She knows he still doesn’t like her much, but she wasn’t the kind of person to want harm to come to a child. She called out his name as she raced through the city streets, hoping beyond hope that the child was alright. 

“Marrow?” she cried, “Marrow where are you?” 

The sound of muffled sobbing caught her attention, slowing down she looked into the alleyway the sound was emanating from. The sight that greeted her both broke her heart and lifted her spirit. Sitting curled up in the alleyway, sobbing and shaking, was Marrow. 

“Oh thank the Brothers.” she sighed, walking towards the boy “Marrow? Marrow are you alright?” she mentally cringed at that. Obviously he wasn’t alright, the tears streaming down his cheeks was a clear sign of that. 

As she came closer she heard Marrow repeating something over and over. “Nonononono, please I’ll be good, I’ll be good. Please I’m sorry. Nonono.”

“Marrow?” she asked gently, reaching out towards him. He flinched away harshly, looking at her with terror filled eyes.

“P-please, I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry.” he sobbed, curling in on himself further.

Harriet pulled back, she probably wasn’t the best person to deal with this. In fact she was probably the absolute worst person to handle this. So she quickly activated her comm and said, “Sir? I found him, he’s really shaken up. I’ll send you my location now.” 

Clover sighed in relief, “Thank you Harriet, I’ll be there soon. Just keep him in one place.”

“Will do sir.” she said before taking out her scroll and sending her location to Clover. Now all she could do was wait. Wait and hope Clover would be able to handle this. 

The minutes that passed by were some of the longest minutes of her life. The sobs and gasps from Marrow felt like glass cutting into her heart every time they came from his mouth. She was about 2 seconds away from crying herself when Clover showed up, she sighed in relief and stood to greet him. 

“What happened?” he asked, his eyes never leaving Marrow’s form.

“I’m not sure, I just found him here. He keeps saying “no” and “I’m sorry” and “please” or “please don’t hurt me” I-I don’t really know what to do sir.” she faltered, stepping to the side to give Clover a clear path to his son. 

Clover gave her a nod before going to Marrow and crouching down in front of him. “Marrow? Can you hear me? Can you tell me what happened?”

Marrow lifted his head slightly, “D-daddy?” he stuttered, sniffling and pulling slightly at his hair. 

“Yeah buddy, it’s me. It’s daddy. Can you tell me why you ran off like that?” Clover said softly, offering his hand out for Marrow to take.

Marrow sniffled again before lunging at Clover, clinging tightly to his shirt and sobbing his heart out. “Daddy! I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad! Don’t leave me!” 

Harriet felt her heart break for the kid, something she could tell Clover felt too if the devastated look on his face was anything to go by. “Oh kid.” she whispered, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.

“I won’t sweetpea.” Clover murmured, “I swear I’ll never leave you. And I’m not mad, I promise. You scared me a whole lot that’s all. I’m not mad. It’s ok. It’s ok.” 

Harriet turned away as Clover rocked himself and Marrow back and forth, murmuring soothing words and reassurances to the boy. She sent a message to Elm and Vine that Marrow had been found and was alright, but he was shaken up and Clover was handling it. 

“Sir, if you wanna take Marrow back home, I’ll take care of the east and west quadrants.” she said over her shoulder. “I can handle it for a night. You have… more important priorities right now.”

She heard Clover give a soft sigh and heard him get up, “Yeah. Thank you Harriet, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it sir.” she said, waving a hand dismissively.

Clover put a hand on her shoulder as he passed, “Thank you.”

“Anytime sir.” she nodded, offering him a small smile as he jogged to the transport with Marrow in his arms. 

Harriet passed the next few hours running her semblance harder than she had in a long time. Running from one end of the city to the other, she was bone tired and ready for a nice hot shower and falling into bed for the rest of her life. She didn’t regret it though, she knew she would do it again in a heartbeat. It was the least she could do for Marrow, after the way she treated him.

She napped a bit on the way back up to Atlas, and plodded to her shared quarters with Elm and Vine once they landed. Upon entering the common room, they found Clover asleep with Marrow on his chest. She chuckled softly, they really were adorable together. The sound seemed to rouse Clover as he blinked and yawned, his hand automatically coming up to pet through Marrow’s hair. 

“Oh, hey guys.” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “How did patrol go?”

“Boring.” Elm answered, “Just a couple of drunks and a street fight.” 

“It has been slow these past few weeks.” Vine interjected, “Nothing much happened on my patrol either, it will be a short report.”

“A few street fights, I was mostly running through the streets.” Harriet yawned.

“Thank you again for taking my quadrant.” Clover whispered.

Harriet smiled, “Any time sir.”

“Eh, call me Clover. Elm and Vine have been calling me that for a while. Might as well make it a team wide thing.” he said flippantly, waving his free hand absentmindedly. 

“Sure, whatever you want, Clover.” she smirked, flopping onto the recliner. 

Elm curled up in the love seat while Vine carefully sat by Clover on the couch. “Sooo,” Elm began, “elephant in the room. What happened?”

Clover sighed, “Apparently he saw a past foster family he was with. A really really bad one. He freaked out and ran, he thought I agreed to bring him down to Mantle to bring him back to them or to Miss.Eliots. I managed to convince him I wouldn’t do that, but it took… awhile to say the least.” 

Each word sent a wave of guilt through Harriet. She had been treating Marrow so coldly, so harshly, she had been horrible. She hadn’t thought his life could have been this horrible. Brothers, she really was a horrible person wasn’t she? “Clover, I-I’m sorry.”

Clover gave her a curious look, “For what?”

“Well, I just, I didn’t know-I know I already said sorry! But I-Ugh!” she stuttered. She just couldn’t seem to find the words, and it was driving her crazy.

“Harriet, I understand. It’s ok.” Clover smiled softly at her. “And the fact that you’re trying to be better is enough for me. Besides you’re the one that found him, that’s gotta count for something right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” she said sheepishly, “Thanks… Clover.”

“Anytime Hare.” he smiled back, glancing down at Marrow who was starting to stir. 

“Daddy?” he mumbled, his eyes half lidded and tired looking. 

Clover brushed a stray hair out of Marrow’s face, “Hey buddy. How are you feeling?”

“Seepy.” he mumbled, snuggling further into Clover’s chest.

Clover chuckled, “Yeah I bet. But hey, you wanna say hi to everyone before you head back to dreamland?”

Marrow briefly looked at everyone before turning his face back into Clover’s chest, “No.”

Harriet bit back a laugh, and from the shake of Clover’s shoulders he was fighting the same fight. Glancing at their other teammates Vine looked as nonplussed as usual though she noticed a tiny smirk on his face, and Elm had a hand on her chest and looked incredulous

“You don’t want to say hi to us?” Elm asked in a mock hurt voice, “Don’t you love us.” 

Marrow whined slightly, “No, too tired.” 

Harriet had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and she saw Vine’s smirk grew a fraction. 

“Ok, I’m gonna get him to bed.” Clover giggled, picking himself and Marrow up off the couch and walking to the child's room.

“Sleep sweet little guy.” Harriet called after them, waving as they entered Marrow’s room.

Once Clover had entered Marrow’s room, Elm leaned towards Harriet with a serious look. “So you found him.”

Harriet was slightly taken aback by the sudden questioning, “Uh, yeah? I did. Why?”

“What did you do when you found him?” the taller woman asked, narrowing her eyes a bit at Harriet.

Harriet sighed, “I tried to talk him down but he was too freaked out, so I called Clover and waited. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Elm eyed Harriet for a moment longer before nodding, “Alright. Good.” 

“Why do you ask?” Harriet questioned, fearing that she already knew the answer.

“Just curious.” Elm replied with a shrug, leaning back on the loveseat.

“Mhm.” Harriet hummed, “Alright.”

There were a few beats of silence before Clover re-entered the room, softly closing the bedroom door behind him. “Alright, he’s sound asleep, and I for one, am exhausted. I’m gonna head to bed. Night everyone.”

“I’m turning in too.” Elm said, standing up and stretching, “Sleep well everyone.”

“Good night.” Vine said, already on his way to his room.

“Yup, later everyone.” Harriet called after her teammates before trotting to her own room.

After a nice relaxing shower and changing into her pajamas, Harriet snuggled down under the covers ready for sleep to over take her. But, it never did. Her mind was racing and wouldn’t allow her to sleep, despite her body being beyond tired. 

“Uuuugh.” she moaned, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over her face. “Whyyyyy?”

*Because you still feel guilty.* she thought, *You were so mean to that boy and now that you have an idea of how horribly he was treated, you feel like a piece of shit.*

She groaned and took the pillow back off, *How could I have known?* She thought back at herself. 

*You couldn’t have, but that doesn’t mean you had to be such a bitch.* she responded, *He’s just a little kid after all.*

Harriet sighed and turned onto her side, *Yeah. But I’m trying to do better now. Sure I was kind of a bitch before, but I’m doing better now.*

*Are you? You seemed to give up pretty quick when Marrow was basically having a panic attack. Aren’t you the stubborn one?* came the harsh reply

She growled, *I couldn’t have helped even if I wanted to! He’s still scared of me!* 

*And whose fault is that?* she sniped back at herself. 

“Oh my Brothers shut up!” she said aloud, sitting up from her bed. “I’m trying ok?” she sighed and pulled her knees to her chest, “I’m trying.” 

Harriet was a bit surprised to feel tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she scrubbed them away. Only to be met with more, she scrubbed harder but more tears gathered. A sob escaped her lips and she grabbed her pillow again, burying her face in it to muffle her sobs. Brothers she was a mess.

Harriet Bree would never admit this aloud, but she cried herself to sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!!


	12. Family Ties and Happier Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harriet gets a second chance to know Marrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is chapter 12! It's very cute! A little angsty! And I hope you like it!

It had been a few weeks since the Mantle incident, and Marrow was finally back to his normal bubbly self, something all the Operatives were beyond happy to see. It was good to see him energetic instead of sleep deprived because of nightmares, and to hear his bubbly laughter instead of mumbled words and muffled sobs from his room. Clover seemed to be the happiest of all of them, not that anyone was really surprised. 

“I’m gonna getcha!” Clover teased as he chased a giggling Marrow around the common room. Harriet chuckled from her place on the couch, it had become very entertaining to watch them play as of late. 

“No!” Marrow called back, giggling and going down to try and crawl under the table to escape Clover. 

“Yes!” Clover replied, grabbing Marrow by the ankles and pulling him out from under the table. He held tight as Marrow wiggled around in his grip, laughing and batting at his hands.

“Daddy! Let me go!” he squealed, pulling at Clovers hands and kicking his feet. 

Clover pulled Marrow closer and laughed maniacally, “Never! You’re stuck with me forever now! Muahaha!” 

Marrow wasn’t able to reply as Clover began tickling up and down his sides and blowing raspberries into his neck. Harriet smirked and rolled her eyes fondly. When had Marrow’s shrieking laughter become so adorable to her?

“Oh no! Is that a nephew in distress I hear?” Elm called upon entering the common room. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you!” 

Harriet watched in shock as Elm came up behind Clover and dug her fingers into his sides, drawing a sudden barking laugh from Clover. He let Marrow go to attempt to protect his sides and Marrow crawled away still giggling. 

“How do you like it daddy?” Marrow said mockingly, drawing his knees to his chest. 

“ELM!” Clover howled, “IF YOU-AH-IF YOU DON’T STOP! I SWEHEHEAR!” 

Elm looked at Marrow with a raised eyebrow, “What do you think? Has he had enough?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Marrow grinned with a shrug.

“As you wish.” Elm grinned, pulling her hands away and moving quickly away from Clover.

“You-” Clover panted through his residual giggles, “You are so going to pay for that.”

“Heheh, I am in trouble.” Elm said before dashing off as Clover gave chase. Marrow giggled and took off after the two of them. 

Harriet felt a warm feeling fill her chest and chuckled. Before that kid came into their lives they never would have even thought about tickling the captain. And to laugh and play like this was all but unheard of, heck the common room was practically never used before the kid came around. The most time they all spent together was either on missions or during meals. 

A burst of laughter signified that Clover had caught Elm and Harriet decided to leave the room, hopefully to get some peace. Even if she did find all of this very entertaining, it could be a bit much. As she was about to leave the chime of Clover’s scroll brought everything to a temporary pause. 

“Hello?” he said, as Marrow giggled off to the side. “”Uh-huh. Yes sir. Right now? Alright, see you soon sir.” 

“Who was that?” Harriet asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

“The General, he wants to see me. Right now for some reason.” Clover said, a disappointed tone in his voice. 

“Awwww!” Marrow whined, “But we were having fun!”

Elm scooped him up from her place on the floor, “We can still have fun! Clover just has to go be boring for a bit. Right?”

“Yeah! I’ll be back soon! And we’ll have aaaall the fun then!” Clover grinned, briefly skittering his fingers against Marrow’s belly.

Marrow wiggled out of Elm’s grip and threw his arms around Clover’s neck. “Love you daddy!” he chirped, kissing Clover’s cheek.

“Love you too bug-a-boo.” he chuckled, kissing Marrow’s cheek.

Harriet left the room a short time after Clover, and hung out in her room, filling out some paperwork she had been putting off. She could hear laughter coming from the common room and smiled. Now that she wasn’t so blinded by her ignorant anger of the child, she could see how having him around was so wonderful. He brought a certain light to their lives, a ray of sunshine when things got too dark. She was actually quite impressed with his emotional and mental strength, that boy had been through hell and back and he was all the stronger for it. How he could smile and laugh after everything he had been through was truly a marvel. 

“Harriet!” she heard shouted from the common room, “Can you get in here for a second?”

She closed out her paperwork and entered the common room, “What’s up? Everything alright?”

Clover had apparently gathered everyone into the room and had a fairly serious look on his face, “Everything's fine. But we all need to talk.”

Harriet gave a confused look but sat down next to Elm on the couch, “Alright, what’s up?”

Clover sighed, “The General needs us on a mission, it’s supposed to last for a few days.”

“What?” Elm and Marrow gasped at the same time, Marrow sounding as though he was on the verge of tears.

“It should only be 2 days and 1 night if things go well. But he said they need me, Vine and Elm for this.” he gave Harriet a look at this point. “Which means you will be alone with Marrow for that time. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Yes sir, uh, I mean, Clover. There won’t be a… repeat of last time. I promise.” she said, giving the captain a reassuring nod.

Clover nodded back at her and turned to Marrow, “Buddy-”

“I don’t want you to go!” the young faunus cried, dashing up to Clover and leaping into his arms.

Clover quickly wrapped his son up in a tight hug, “I don’t wanna go either. But I have too, I’ll be back before you know it though! I promise!”

“But-but-” he stuttered, tears already gathering in his eyes.

“Yeah, I know buddy. I know.” Clover said, softly running his hand through Marrow’s hair. Marrow sobbed into his father's arms, and Harriet felt her heart break for him. She really felt for the kid, but orders were orders.

“Please don’t go.” Marrow whimpered.

Clover pulled back from the hug slightly and brushed the tears from Marrow's face, “I have too. But I promise, I’ll be back. And the mission isn’t till tomorrow, and if you want, you can see us off. How does that sound?” 

Marrow sniffled, “No! I want you to stay!”

“I can’t stay buddy, I have a job to do.” Clover pleaded.

“No!” Marrow shouted back.

Clover sighed and tried to put a hand on Marrows shoulder, “Marrow-”

“NO!” Marrow screeched back smacking Clover’s hand off him, “I-I-I HATE YOU! YOU LOVE YOUR STUPID JOB MORE THAN ME! AND I HATE YOU!” 

He ran off sobbing and slammed his bedroom door, leaving the Operatives stunned. Clover looked the most hurt, hell the guy looked like he was gonna cry. 

“Clover?” Elm asked cautiously, “You ok?”

“I’m… I’m gonna go pack for the mission.” he said blankly, getting up and plodding to his room.

Harriet felt horrible for them, “Wow.” it was all she could think to say.

“Indeed.” Vine nodded, staring to where Clover had just gone.

Elm stood slowly and shook her head with a sigh, “I think we should leave them be for now, let them calm down. Vine, we have a mission to prepare for. Harriet, you… go… do whatever you were doing before.” 

Harriet furrowed her brow but nodded, “Alright.” She didn’t move though, even as Elm and Vine left to their respective rooms to pack. She felt like she should do something, talk to Clover or Marrow about… ok maybe not Marrow. But she wanted to do something, she felt useless right now. After all of that she felt like she should do literally anything, but there was nothing she could do. So instead she sighed and headed to the training rooms. Maybe punching something would make her feel better. 

A few hours later she returned to her quarters. Walking into the room, the tense and sad atmosphere was still oppressive. She sighed and walked to her room, but before she could she heard a door open behind her. Turning around she saw Marrow standing in his partly opened doorway, his eyes slightly red and puffy. 

“Hey there kiddo.” she said gently, “How you feeling?”

“Is daddy really gonna come back?” he asked in a voice so tiny Harriet nearly didn’t hear him.

She didn’t want to lie to him, but she also didn’t want to make him feel worse. “Most likely. He’s smart, strong, and has luck on his side. He should be fine.”

“But he could not come back too.” he replied, still in that tiny voice.

She sighed and walked to him, “Yeah. There is a chance, but he’s not gonna do anything to prevent him from coming home. He loves you too much.”

“Still?” Marrow asked, a hint of shock in his voice, “Even after I said I hated him?”

“If I know Clover, I know he would still love you if you stabbed him in the leg after burning everything else he loved to the ground.” she joked, giving Marrow a small smile. “That guy loves you more than the sun and the moon, he would kill for you, he’d do anything for you. And one little outburst, or even a million outburst, are never gonna change that.”

Marrow looked to the ground with a contemplative expression, “You pinkie promise?”

Harriet’s smile grew and her eyes softened as she offered her pinkie to him, “Yeah, pinkie promise.” They linked pinkies and shook once. “We’re probably gonna have dinner soon, do you wanna join us?”

“I don’t know.” he said softly. 

She shrugged, “It’s up to you tiny. I’ll leave some leftovers for you alright?”

“Thank you Harriet.” he said, giving her a small smile before retreating back into her room.

He didn’t show for dinner that night, or for breakfast the next day. And Clover stared sorrowfully at Marrow’s door during both meals. 

“Clover, we have to go.” Elm said when breakfast was over. 

“Yeah, let me just say goodbye to Marrow.” he sighed, walking slowly to Marrow’s door. But before he made it there, the door opened revealing Marrow holding something in his hands. “Hey buddy.” Clover said, perking up slightly at the sight of his son.

“I’m sorry daddy.” he said quietly, “I don’t hate you.”

“I know sweetheart.” Clover said crossing the remaining distance between them and kneeling down.

“I promise I didn’t mean it.” he said, not meeting Clover’s eyes.

Clover lifted Marrow’s chin with his eyes, “It’s ok, I know you were just upset. Can I have a hug?”

Marrow nodded and moved forward into Clover’s waiting arms. The two hugged and Harriet felt her heart soften at the sight. She was happy they finally made up, if for no other reason than she wouldn’t have to deal with an upset Marrow for two days.

“Daddy?” Marrow asked once they broke the hug, “I made you something for your mission.”

“You did?” Clover asked happily, “What is it?”

Marrow grinned and revealed a little key painted green and silver on a little chain, “Key’s are lucky! And maybe if you have extra luck, then you would for sure come back!”

Harriet was pretty sure her heart was going to melt, this boy was too damn cute. 

Clover grinned widely, “You made this? It’s amazing! I love it Marrow, thank you.” 

“Really?” Marrow asked, his tail starting to wag.

“Yeah! I’ll keep it on me the whole mission I promise.” Clover said, brushing Marrows bangs from his face. “I’ll call as often as I can alright? I’ll be back soon.”

“Ok. I love you daddy.” Marrow said, wrapping his arms around Clover. Something Clover was quick to reciprocate. 

“I love you too sweetheart.” Clover said, holding Marrow tight. When they pulled apart Clover kissed the top of Marrow’s head and ruffled his hair, making the boy giggle. “I have to go now Marrow, but I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Ok. Good luck, I love you.” Marrow nodded, though Harriet caught the way his tail drooped a fraction and his smile left his face.

“Hey, come on none of that. Can I have a little smile to send me off?” Clover said, playfully poking Marrow’s cheek. Marrow gave a small smile and kissed Clover’s cheek, making Clover gasp dramatically and touch his cheek. “That’s gonna get me through this whole mission. I’ll see you later buddy!”

“See you later daddy!” Marrow smiled as Clover grabbed his bag from the table and nodded to Harriet. She had gotten his “caring for Marrow” email last night, so she was ready. 

“Take care Harriet, let’s move!” Clover finally said as he left with Vine and Elm.

“See you two later! Don’t have too much fun without us!” Elm called as she left.

“We will be back soon.” Vine said, nodding at Harriet and waving at Marrow.

And they were gone. Leaving Marrow and Harriet in silence. She looked at him and offered a slightly awkward smile, “Soooo… what do you wanna do now?” He shrugged and she hummed, “Do you wanna color? Or watch a movie?”

“Can we do both?” he asked with a tilt to his head.

“Sure.” she shrugged, “I’ll grab the movie you grab the coloring stuff.” 

The rest of their day passed like that, simply watching movies, coloring, and other arts and crafts. He had been hesitant to bring out the clay, but when she took a small glob and made a little clay dog, he smiled and dug into it. It was probably the most relaxed day she had had in awhile honestly. 

That night after dinner, a good night call from Clover, and making sure Marrow was all tucked in, she sat in her own bed, browsing idly through her scroll in her pajamas when she heard it. A quiet whimpering from outside her door. She put her scroll down and opened her door a crack. Outside was a tearful and guilty looking Marrow.

“Hey kiddo. What’s up? Are you ok?” she asked, opening her door further and crouching down to his level.

He sniffled and stared intently at his feet, “I’m sorry, I just… um… I…” he mumbled the rest.

“What that pipsqueak? I couldn’t hear you.” she said, leaning a bit towards the kid.

“I had a bad dream.” he whispered, holding his little dinosaur close to his chest. 

She nodded, “Oh, alright well…” what would Clover do? “You uh… you wanna stay here for the night?”

He looked up at her shocked, “Really?”

“Yeah, only if you want to though. If you want to stay in your room I’ll stick around till you're asleep.” Harriet offered a small smile, “Your choice kid.”

“I-I wanna stay here please.” he answered quietly. 

“Alrighty then, come on in.” she replied, ushering the boy into her room. 

He stepped cautiously through the doorway and looked curiously around the room. She lifted him carefully onto the bed and tucked him under the covers, carefully slipping in afterwards.

“Comfy?” she asked quietly.

“Mhm.” he replied, already sounding halfway to dreamland.

“Good, sleep sweet Marrow.” she yawned, snuggling a bit further into the bed.

She looked at Marrow when he didn’t reply and smiled when she saw he was already asleep. How on Remnant had she ever hated this kid? He was so sweet and adorable, and she had been so cruel and horrible. She had thought he was weak when she first met him, but looking back, he was the strongest person she had probably ever met. This kid had gone through hell and back and still came out on top. He was a lot stronger than she was. He made her a gift, or tried to make her a gift, after she had been such a bitch. And now here he was, sleeping soundly next to her. She didn’t deserve his trust, but she was happy to have it. With that, she fell asleep, a soft smile on her face.

She woke up the next morning with Marrow cuddled close to her. She deftly moved away, slow and careful so as not to wake him. She softly padded to the door and slipped out, letting out a sigh when the door was closed. She set about making breakfast and smiled when Marrow entered the room.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked, pouring a bowl of cereal for the kid.

“Good. Thank you for letting me stay.” he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

She chuckled, “Anytime kiddo.” 

They ate their breakfast idly chatting as they both woke up and got ready for the day. The morning was spent hanging out, Harriet filled out reports and answered emails while Marrow drew at her feet. Part way through and email she felt a tug at her sweatpants. Looking down she saw a grinning Marrow kneeling next to her and proudly holding up a picture he had drawn.

“I drew all of us!” he beamed and began pointing to the various stick figures, “That’s me, that’s you, that’s daddy…” She smiled as he pointed to each of the team members, even the General was in the picture, it seemed to be all of them taking down a large grimm and if the yellow zig-zags around her were anything to go by then she was using her semblance. 

“Well it looks wonderful.” she said once he had finished showing off his drawing. “Let’s put it on the fridge, that way when the others get home they can see it too.” 

“Yes!” Marrow fist pumped and dashed off to the fridge.

After getting the picture on the fridge she decided she didn’t want to sit back down, “Say, you wanna come to the training room with me?”

“Yeah!” he cheered, his tail wagging happily.

She chuckled, “Great, go grab what you need. I’m gonna get changed.”

He dashed off and she shook her head fondly. She changed quickly and came back out, and leaned against the wall to wait for Marrow. He eventually came out, sporting his purple and pink backpack with noodles head sticking out of the top, and a book Elm gave him in his hands.

“Ready short stack?” she asked with a grin.

“Mhm!” he nodded, practically bouncing on his feet.

“Then let’s head out.” she grinned back, heading to the door with Marrow trotting behind her.

The walk was surprisingly quick, even for Harriet. When they reached the training room Harriet quickly stretched and looked back at Marrow.

“You wanna do some training with me or do you wanna practice with your book?” Harriet asked.

“I wanna read, I’m gonna surprise daddy when he gets back today!” Marrow chirped already settling himself by the door with his dinosaur and book. 

Harriet shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

She did mostly light training, running laps, going through fighting forms, and punching dodgeballs that a machine shot her way. It only ended when she heard Marrow yelp and she quickly turned around to make sure he was ok, and got hit by a dodgeball in the back of the head. 

“Ow.” she stated flatly after the ball hit her.

“Are you ok?” Marrow rushed to her side with concerned eyes,

She rubbed the back of her head as her aura eased the pain, “Yeah I’m good. Are you alright? I heard you yelp.”

“I’m ok, one of the balls was just really close.” he said, still looking worried.

She smirked and ruffled his hair, “Well so long as you’re ok. Come on, I’m getting hungry.” 

They walked back to the Ace Ops’ quarters and Harriet started getting lunch ready. She made sandwiches for them along with peanut butter crackers and apple juice for Marrow. 

“So, how was that book treating you?” she asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“Pretty good. Some of the words are kinda hard, but I think I’m getting it!” he said, his tail beginning to wag.

“That’s good!” she chirped “If you need help though, you can always come to me.”

“Ok!” he smiled.

A bit after lunch, Marrow settled down for his nap and Harriet hung out in the common room, mostly so that if Marrow needed her she was right there. She had just finished level 3 of her video game when Clover called.

“Go for Bree.” she said cooly.

“Hey Hare! It’s Clover, just checking in. How’s everything going over there?” Clover’s chipper voice rang through the speakers.

Harriet chuckled, “Everything’s going great! I put him down for his nap a bit ago.” 

“Great! I guess you finally, truly, like him now?” Clover teased.

“No, I don’t like him Clover.” she deadpanned.

Clover audibly baulked, “You-”

“I love him! He’s such a sweetheart! I can’t believe how much of a bitch I was before!” Harriet gushed.

Clover laughed, “Yup! Oh, let me guess. The linchpin was the puppy dog eyes wasn’t it?”

“How’d ya guess?” she joked with a chuckle.

“He’s gotten me with those more than once.” Clover chuckled. “But seriously, I’m glad everything’s going well.”

“Yeah, same here.” Harriet said, leaning back into the couch with a smile. “I’m glad he’s not so scared of me now.”

“Yeah, hey I gotta run. But we should be home before dinner, alright? See ya later!” Clover chirped.

“See ya later!” she chuckled before ending the call.

Harriet sighed and closed her eyes, a small smile on her face. Things were really looking up for her right now weren’t they? She was back on good terms with her teammates, Marrow seemed to finally really forgive her for what she did, and she was one happy Ace Op at the moment. If someone had told her 4 months ago that this is where her life would be, she probably would have laughed in their face before punching them. 

“Did you mean it?” a tiny voice spoke from her left.

Harriet opened her eyes and looked over to find Marrow standing at the end of the couch, and looking at her with wide hopeful eyes. 

“Mean what little pup?” she asked, motioning for him to join her on the couch.

He clambered onto the couch next to her and said timidly, “Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

Harriet felt her breath catch in her throat. “You… heard that?”

He nodded, “Did you mean it?”

She looked at him for a moment, he was giving her the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. “I… ya know what? Yeah. I did kiddo. I did mean it. I love you.”

Marrow’s eyes somehow got wider and he grinned, “I love you too!” and with that he rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

She sat shocked for a moment before coming to her senses and hugging him back. Eventually Harriet chuckled and pulled back from the hug, “Alright, alright! That’s enough hugs for now.”

“Daddy says there’s no such thing as too many hugs.” Marrow said innocently. 

“Well daddies a softie.” she joked.

“You’re a softie!” he giggled. 

Harriet gasped dramatically, “I am not! You get over here!” 

He giggled and dashed off the couch before she could grab him, she laughed and took off after him, without her semblance of course. She chased him around the common room as he shrieked with laughter. Eventually the chase ended when she burst forward (you can’t prove it was her semblance) and scooped him up. 

“Gotcha!” she cried, holding him tight as he tried to wiggle free.

“No!” he giggled.

“Yes!” she laughed. “Now what is it Clover usually does when he catches you?” 

He giggled and doubled his escape efforts, “He lets me go!”

“No, no. I don’t think that’s it.” she playfully mused, tightening her hold a bit. “What was it, what was it? Oh! Right! It was this!” she scribbled her fingers lighting fast over Marrow’s belly and ribs.

Marrow began shrieking and kicking, his tail wagging up a small breeze. She grinned and darted her hand all over, eventually settling on his neck where his giggles turned a bit snorty.

“Ya know, I didn’t get the whole “tickle the adorable faunus kid” before, but now I definitely see the appeal.” she teased.

“NOHOHO! *snort* STOP IT! PLEHE *snort* PLEHEASE!” Marrow laughed, tears starting for form in his eyes.

Harriet chuckled and stopped the tickles, “Alright, but only because you said please.”

Marrow curled up a bit as residual giggles bubbled out of him. Harriet rubbed his back and laughed softly, “You alright there pipsqueak?”

He nodded and looked up at her, “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” she shrugged, though she was incredibly curious.

“Can I call you Aunt Harriet?” he asked innocently.

Harriet felt her breath catch for the second time that day, “I… I… yeah. You can call me that… if you want.”

Marrow grinned and threw his arms around Harriet. This time around she hugged back a lot faster. This time though, what cut the hug off was the call of, “Well well well, what have we here?” coming from behind them.

“DADDY!” Marrow cried, pushing out of Harriets arms and rushing to Clover.

Harriet smirked, “Hey guys. How was the mission?”

Elm grinned at her and helped her to her feet, “It was fine. I’m more curious about how THAT happened.” 

“What can I say, I’m good with kids.” she joked with a shrug.

Elm laughed heartily and slapped a hand on her shoulder, “Whatever you say Harriet! Hey Marrow! Did you have fun while we were away?”

Marrow pulled back slightly from his and Clover’s hug to answer, “Yeah! Me and Aunt Harriet had a bunch of fun!” 

Harriet let a smug smile find its way onto her face at the shocked looks from her teammates. “What’s wrong Elm? Worried that you might not be the de facto favorite aunt anymore?”

“You wish!” Elm shot back with a grin throwing an arm around Harriet, “But hey, welcome to the family Hare! Took long enough!” 

Harriet let out a laugh. It honestly felt nice to be part of the family. Even if it had taken her awhile to get there. But hey, better late than never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	13. Little Distractions And Big Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover decides to surprise Marrow for his birthday. He has set about the task of distracting the boy at a child’s wonderland. This definitely can’t go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the new chapter! I can’t believe we have 13 chapters already! Like wow!

A year. Marrow had been with them for a whole year. It felt impossible, but yet, it was true. Clover had been planning this day for weeks. He knows Marrow doesn’t know his actual birthday, so if he was up for it, then they were gonna use this day, the day that Clover found him, as his birthday. It was gonna be a big surprise party, everyone was showing up, the other Ops, the General, Ozpin and Oscar, he had even invited Winter. They were gonna have the party in the Ace Op common area, so he was gonna take Marrow out to see Atlas while everyone else set up for the party. 

“You ready Marrow?” he asked the boy in arms with a wide smile.

“Yeah!” he chirped, matching Clover’s grin.

Marrow had seemed really excited to see more of Atlas when Clover had asked if he wanted to go. Not that Clover could blame him, Clover was a bit… overprotective of Marrow since the Mantle incident. So going anywhere but the school or the store was rare, even after a year. Clover swore to himself to change that. Marrow deserved to see more of the world he lived in, and Clover would give him that world if he could.

“Great! Let’s go!” Clover exalted, ruffling Marrow's hair. 

“Wait! I forgot Noodle! Can we go back and get him?” Marrow asked, giving Clover pleading eyes.

Clover wanted to give in, but the others would already be getting started in their party prep, “Sorry buddy, but uhh… Noodle is really tired. I think he needs some rest.”

Marrow's face fell a bit, “Oh. Ok.” 

Clover felt a shot of guilt run through his heart before an idea popped into his head, “Say, hows about we make it up to him?”

“How?” Marrow asked curiously. 

Clover grinned, “What if we got him a new friend? You pick of course.”

That got Marrow to perk right up, “You mean it?”

“Course I mean it!” he insisted, nuzzling his nose against Marrow’s cheek, making the little faunus giggle.

Marrow’s tail wagged happily as he nodded, “Ok!”

Their cab arrived then and they got in, Clover had Marrow settled on his lap as the child stared awe struck out the window. He chuckled, his son was seriously the most adorable kid in all of Remnant, no one could ever convince him otherwise. 

“You excited to see the city little fella?” the cab driver asked pleasantly.

“Yeah! I’ve never really been to Atlas before!” he grinned, “Daddy’s says we can find a new friend for Noodle here!”

The driver gave Clover a curious look, Clover just mouthed “Toy.” and the driver nodded.

“Well stay close to your daddy alright little fella? The city can be a dangerous place for little ones alone.” he warned.

“Yes sir!” Marrow chirped, seemingly not off put by the cryptic warning. Clover on the other hand, grew a bit worried. Maybe a trip to the city wasn’t a great idea. Maybe they should have just gone to one of the school gardens, Marrow always liked those. But a glance at Marrow's bright eyes and beaming smile drove that thought out of his mind. He would just keep a very VERY close eye on his son. It would be fine.

Once they reached their destination, Clover paid the driver and they got out with Marrow waving a cheery goodbye to the man. He waved back before driving off and the pair turned to the building before them. The sight made Marrow gasp and Clover beam, he had picked this spot specifically for Marrow. The building was heralded as a “Child’s Paradise” and from the looks of the outside it really lived up to the hype. See, the building was several different things in one, it had toy stores, candy stores, an arcade, had a huge play place for kids of all ages, and even had a few rides for the kids. The best part though? This place was all inclusive. Meaning both human and faunus were fully allowed throughout the building.

“Ready?” he asked, lighty jostling Marrow out of his amazed stupor. 

Marrow’s tail began wagging and he grinned wide at Clover, “Yeah!”

Entering the building they were assaulted by a sudden wall of noise, children laughing and screeching throughout the building, people chatting and running about, it was a madhouse. Clover noticed Marrow curl in on himself a bit.

“You ok buddy?” he asked, concerned. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought Marrow here first. The place was very big and very loud, Marrow might not be used to that kind of thing, even if the common rooms could get really rowdy at times. 

“I’m ok. It’s just… big. And loud.” Marrow said, clinging a bit to Clover.

“We can go if you want. There are other more quiet places if you want.” Clover soothed, gently petting through Marrow’s hair. 

“No I’m ok.” he said, “I wanna stay please.”

Clover kissed his forehead, “Alright. Just let me know if you wanna leave or need a minute alright?”

“Ok.” Marrow nodded before giving Clover a smile, “Can we ride the ferris wheel? I’ve never been on one!”

Clover looked at the massive ferris wheel in the center of the building, “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

They rode down the glass elevator to the bottom floor, Marrow looking out with shining eyes the whole way, and walked over to the line for the ferris wheel. Luckily the line didn’t take too long and they were able to get into a car fairly quickly. It was a car shaped like a ladybug, something Clover, a lover of butterflies and ladybugs, could appreciate. 

“So, first time on a ferris wheel. How do you like it so far?” Clover asked jokingly. 

Marrow looked at him with wide shining eyes and his tail going a mile a minute, “This is the best day of my life.”

Clover bit back a laugh and settled to simply smile at his little pup, “I’m glad. Let’s hope it gets better from here.” 

They cycled around twice before they had to get off, “Daddy can we do that again? Please?”

“Why don’t we look around for a bit and come back to it later?” Clover offered.

Marrow looked at him with a slight pout, “Fine. But you promise we’ll come back?”

“Pinkie promise.” Clover said holding his pinky out. Marrow hooked his pinky around Clover’s and they shook once, sealing the promise. “Now where do you wanna go first?”

Marrow looked around a bit, seemingly weighing his options, “I wanna go to the… candy store first!” Marrow pointed to one of the many candy stores in the space and Clover nodded.

“Then to the candy store it is!” he beamed, taking Marrow’s hand and walking to the store. 

The inside of the store Clover was dang near on a sugar rush just looking at everything. Marrow seemed to be awestruck for the second time that day, and his tail was wagging ever faster, something Clover didn’t even know was possible at this point. 

“Alright Marrow, you can pick 4 things. But nothing huge, and if you need help reaching something, tell me.” Clover said, gesturing for Marrow to go and make his selection.

Marrow looked up at him with a shocked expression, “4 things? And it can be anything?”

“Anything so long at it’s not huge. Like one of those 4 pound gummy bears.” Clover said. “But yeah, pretty much anything else is fair game.”

Marrow grinned at him and took off, Clover hot on his heels. Marrow seemed to be really weighing his options with his selection, looking closely at each candy before usually turning away. Clover himself was mostly uncaring. He wasn’t a big candy guy, though he wouldn’t say no to some chocolate covered strawberries. Marrow dragged Clover all over the store for what must have been at least half an hour before he finally made his final selection. He had picked a bag of saltwater taffy, chocolate coins, a jawbreaker, and a large lollipop. Clover was willing to let that last choice slide, the lollipop wasn’t too horrendously huge so it was fine. 

“You ready bud?” he asked the bouncing faunus.

“Yup!” he chirped happily. 

They proceeded to the check out and Clover paid for the (frankly a bit overpriced) items and they left the store. Clover put the candy in Marrow's backpack and ruffled his hair, “Alright, where to next?”

Marrow glanced at the ferris wheel again, then at Clover, and back to the ferris wheel, and shook his head. “I don’t know, you pick daddy.”

Clover chuckled, “Alright if you say so.” He looked around exaggeratedly, humming and pretending to choose something before shaking his head and looking around again. Marrow giggled at his theatrics and Clover gave him a cheeky grin. “Alright alright, how about we try out the arcade? I could show you some sweet pinball skills, or my dance moves on DDR.” 

“What’s DDR?” Marrow asked as they headed to the arcade.

“It’s a dancing game, you’d probably like it!” Clover grinned, swinging Marrow’s hand in his.

Marrow was practically vibrating with excitement as they entered the arcade, his head was swiveling around like crazy as he tried to look at everything. Clover laughed as he bought them some game cards and handed one to Marrow.

“Alright buddy. This card had 500 points, you use the points to play the games. Just tap the card and the game takes the points, if you run out of points we can get more, but I don’t think we’ll run out anytime soon.” Clover explained, “So what do you wanna try first?” 

As Marrow looked around at the various games, Clover noticed some people looking at them and whispering. For a split second he was confused, before he saw one of them subtly point at Marrow, or more specifically his tail, and it clicked. His face twisted into a scowl and he glared at the people. Their eyes widened and they scurried off. Clover scoffed and rolled his eyes, he would never understand people like that. Marrow was just like any other kid, literally the only difference was that he had a tail. Bunch of racist jerks.

“Daddy?” Marrow’s inquisitive voice broke him from his thoughts, “Are you ok?”

Clover’s face softened to a small smile, “Yeah, I’m ok. I just… saw that someone else is on the DDR machine, so we’ll have to wait on that.” 

Marrow looked at him suspiciously, but seemed to let it go as his eyes locked on a claw machine game. “Can we try that first?”

“Course we can!” Clover crowed, ushering Marrow to the game and away from anymore onlookers. 

Clover stood by the machine and explained how it worked to Marrow, all the while keeping a close eye out for anyone else looking or whispering about this son. He was so caught up in his searching that when a fluffy, seafoam green octopus toy was shoved at him he was caught completely unawares. 

“Look! Look! I won!” Marrow cheered, jumping up and down with the toy in his hands.

Clover blinked, “Oh, that’s wonderful! Great job buddy!” 

“Here.” Marrow said, shaking the toy at him, “I want you to have it.”

Clover felt his heart melt a bit, “Sweetheart no. That’s your toy, I couldn’t take that! You won it fair and square.”

“But I want you to have it! Please?” Marrow asked, giving Clover a pair of large puppy dog eyes.

Clover held strong for about two seconds, before crumbling. “Ok, fine. I’ll take it.” 

Marrow grinned wide and handed the little octopus to Clover, who playfully ruffled Marrow’s hair before putting it in Marrow’s backpack. “Just to keep it safe.” he explained.

They played a few more games, a huge electronic connect 4 that Clover won, pinball, and they even went into a photobooth, and a lot of other games he couldn’t quite recall. The final game they played was DDR, Clover danced for a song to show Marrow how to do it, before letting him have the floor. The young faunus did surprisingly well for his first time and Clover got on the second machine and they danced through a few songs together. They called it quits when they ran out of points on their cards, Clover amazed to find out they had been playing in there for 2 hours. 

“Time really flies when you're having fun, huh buddy?” he grinned, as he and Marrow left the arcade with a big beowulf plush in his arms. 

“Mhm!” Marrow happily nodded, before his stomach rumbled.

“Guess we should get some food huh?” Clover chuckled.

Marrow nodded, “Yes please!”

Clover took Marrow's hand and led them to the elevator. They rode up to the food court and Clover let Marrow pick the place. Once he had picked, they got in line, ordered their food, paid, and received their food. The place was a Vale themed restaurant and while Clover had only been to Vale a few times, he does remember they had really good food there. They found an empty table to sit at that was mostly away from the crowd. 

“So, are you having fun Marrow?” he asked as he ate his Vale noodles. He had to admit, they were really good. The old man behind the counter was really good at what he did.

Marrow looked at him with a mouthful of noodles and nodded before slurping them up and speaking. “Yeah! It’s super fun here!” he exalted.

Clover smiled at him, “That’s great! I’m really glad you're having a good time!” His scroll chimed and he quickly checked it. It was a text from Elm. Party prep was going great and they would be done right on time by the looks of it. Clover’s shoulders relaxed a bit and he checked the time, seeing that he had about 3 hours to kill, no problem. “How about after lunch we go look for Noodles new friend?” he suggested turning back to Marrow.

“Yes please!” Marrow grinned, slurping up the rest of his food and drinking the broth. “Ok let’s go!”

Clover laughed, “Hold your horses there buddy! I haven’t finished my food yet!”

Marrow groaned and sprawled himself over Clover’s lap, “Why are you so slow at eating?”

“Because it bugs you.” he teased, poking his belly and making the boy giggle.

Marrow stayed on Clover’s lap for the remainder of his meal, one that Clover ate as exaggeratedly slow as he possibly could. He made various annoying “yummy” noises that sent Marrow into mini giggle fits, and eventually finished his food. Marrow was quick to tug him towards the elevator once they threw their trash away. He was excitedly babbling about what kind of new friend for Noodle he might get the entire ride up. 

“And after we get Noodle’s new friend, we can ride the ferris wheel again!” Marrow bubbled, bouncing in place with a wildly wagging tail.

“Sounds like a plan buddy.” Clover smiled, his heart warming at the joy shining from his son's eyes. 

Once they reached their destination Marrow darted over to one of the many toy stores, Clover only just able to keep up with him. “Marrow! I’m not as spry as I used to be! You gotta slow down!” 

Marrow slowed down a bit and allowed Clover to catch up, “I’m sorry daddy. I forgot you were old.”

Clover gave a deadpan look to his son, who simply looked up at him innocently. “You are so gonna pay for that.” he playfully chided, ruffling the boy’s hair.

Marrow giggled and grabbed Clover’s hand, skipping happily into the store. It was just as impressive as the rest of the stores, toys as far as the eye could see and children running about with parents chasing behind them. Marrow was quick to head for the stuffed animals, something that didn’t surprise Clover in the slightest. 

“You can pick 3 toys, and like the candy store, nothing too huge. You got it?” Clover said.

“Uh-huh!” Marrow nodded, his eyes never leaving the rows of stuffed animals before him. 

Clover shook his head fondly and snapped a picture of Marrow looking at the toys. He sent it to the group chat with the caption, “So many choices, what’s a kid to do?”

Elm sent back, “Don’t get him anything plant related!” and Clover chuckled. 

In that short short moment of not looking at Marrow, the boy was gone. The second he noticed a distinct lack of the young fanus, his heart sank through the floor.

“Marrow?” he asked, looking up and down the aisle, “Marrow? Where are you?”

He began quickly pacing through the aisles, each call getting more and more frantic. Where was his son? Oh Brothers he had only looked away for a second! He was a horrible father! Ok Ebi, calm down. He’s probably fine. Deep breaths Ebi. Deep breaths.It was gonna be fine, maybe he just wandered to a different toy store, or wanted to ride the ferris wheel again. He had to still be in the building, and with his luck he would find his boy easy-peasy!

NOT EASY-PEASY! NOT EASY-PEASY! It had been nearly an hour and he was panicking. He had searched every inch of this building and no Marrow anywhere! Oh Brothers where was he? Had someone taken him? Oh Brothers. Oh Brothers.

Alright, he needed to retrace his steps. Maybe Marrow noticed Clover wasn’t with him and went back to the store or something. He had to check at least. Stepping into the store, he began walking up and down the aisles again, calling for Marrow, until a little voice chirped from the next aisle over.

“Daddy?” OH THANK THE BROTHERS!

“Marrow!” and he all but sprinted to the aisle. A huge wave of relief washed over him when he saw, sitting in the middle of the aisle, Marrow, safe and sound. “Oh thank the Brothers! Marrow! You scared me half to death! You have got to stop wandering off little pup!” He embraced Marrow tightly and was kissing and petting his hair, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

“But daddy, I never left the store.” Marrow said confusedly.

Clover froze and took a deep breath, “Well even so, you left the aisle and you worried me. Don’t do that again, ok?”

“Ok. I found some new friends for Noodle though!” Marrow chirped, holding up 3 new toys in his arms. A plush triceratops, a brachiosaurus, and wolf. “Now Noodle has other dinosaur friends and Socks has an animal friend!”

Clover almost felt like he should still be mad that Marrow wandered off, but he was so darn cute, and he hadn’t meant to wander off like that. “That’s great honey. Let’s get these little guys, ride that ferris wheel, and-” he quickly checked his phone, about 2 hours lefts- “try some of the other rides? That little rollercoaster looks fun.” 

“Yay!” Marrow cheered, hugging his new plush friends close, “Thank you daddy! This is the best day ever!”

Clover sighed with a smile, “I’m glad you think so sweetheart.” Maybe he should invest in one of those child leashes. Would that be racist? Didn’t seem that necessary really, Marrow was generally well behaved, he just had wandering feet. 

They got to the check out, Clover paid for the new toys, put them in Marrow's backpack, and they left the store. Marrow whined slightly, but shouldered his backpack up and kept walking.

“What’s up buddy? Everything alright?” Clover asked.

“My backpack is heavy.” he said quietly, shuffling his feet.

Clover smiled and patted his head, “Alright, give it here.” Marrow smiled at him and handed him the little pink and purple backpack.

“Thank you daddy!” he chirped, hugging Clover’s leg. “For everything.”

Clover gave Marrow a slightly confused look, “What are you talking about buddy?”

“You do a lot for me.” he said simply, “I don’t think anyone’s done this much for me before. And I Apercia...Apre...Aper… what’s the word that means I like what you do?”

“Appreciate?” Clover smiled.

“Yeah! That! I that you!” Marrow grinned. 

“Well I appreciate you too Marrow. You’ve brought the team together like never before, you’re the best luck of my life.” he said softly. He kneeled down and opened his arms for a hug, one Marrow seemed more than happy to give him.

“I love you daddy.” Marrow said, snuggling into Clover’s shoulder.

“I love you too Marrow.” he replied softly, hugging his son a little tighter.

Clover subtly wiped his eyes as they broke the hug and he took Marrow's hand, “You ready to ride the ferris wheel again?”

“Yeah!” Marrow beamed, dragging Clover to the elevator.

Soon they were back on the ferris wheel, riding in a car covered in flowers and bees this time. Marrow’s tail was going a mile a minute as he looked out over the levels of the building that they passed. Clover was content to watch him enjoy himself. Marrow really had changed a lot since he first got him. Where he was once scared of his own shadow and apologizing for just about everything, here he was happy and silly and bouncy as can be. 

The last two hours flew by as Marrow rode the kiddy rides and played in the giant playscape. Clover, despite being beyond happy that Marrow had a great day, was bone tired. Chasing after a hyper 6 year old, losing him in a giant store, he felt about ready for a very long nap. But there was still the surprise party, so he would have to hold out for a bit longer. So while Marrow finished up playing on the playscape Clover ordered a cab to take them home.

“Marrow! It’s about time to leave buddy!” he called.

“Awww! Can’t we stay a little longer!” Marrow whined, giving him his biggest puppy dog eyes.

Clover smirked, “Well we could. But you would have to miss the big surprise at home.” 

“What surprise?” Marrow said, rushing over to Clover.

“If it told you it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?” Clover responded, tapping Marrow’s nose playfully. “Now you got everything? Make sure you didn’t lose anything.”

Marrow nodded eagerly and rifled through his backpack, “Ok! I have everything! Let’s go!”

Clover chuckled and let Marrow drag him off to the exit. Marrow had been dragging him around a lot today hadn’t he? Clover checked his phone to see that Elm had texted him. Everything was ready, it was go time. The Ace Op felt a rush of excitement come over him, this was going to be great! Well, he hoped it would be great at least. 

The cab ride back to the school was mostly filled with Marrow excitedly chatting away about his day with the driver, who luckily seemed receptive to Marrow's babbling. Getting back to the school after paying the driver, Clover was practically giddy. 

“You ready bud?” he asked, a big smile on his face.

“Yes!” Marrow cheered, rushing to the building that housed the Ace Ops. 

Clover laughed and chased after him, scooping him into his arms just before they reached the elevator. He blew a raspberry into Marrow’s neck, making the boy shriek with laughter. Clover put him back on the ground and they were both practically bouncing as they made their way up to the common room, both excited for the same thing but for different reasons. Upon reaching their floor, Clover held Marrow’s hand and they walk to the door. 

“Ready for your surprise bud?” he asked.

“I’m ready!” he chirped back, still bouncing in place.

“Alright, three… two… one!” and he threw open the door, revealing everyone wearing party hands.

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARROW!” the all called in unison, except for Oscar who just shrieked along. Clover’s grin turned to a frown when he saw everyone’s faces fall. He turned to look at Marrow and his eyes widened when he saw Marrow was crying.

~

This had been the best day ever in Marrow's opinion. He had gone to a super huge, super fun wonderland, he got a bunch of candy and toys, he rode a ferris wheel, and best of all? He spent the entire day with his daddy! How much more awesomer can it get? And when daddy told him there was a surprise for him at home, he had only been more excited! 

He wasn’t expecting a surprise party. His whole new family was there. Aunty Elm, Aunt Harriet, Uncle Vine, Uncle Ironwood, Mr.Ozpin, his best friend Oscar. They said it was his birthday. He… didn’t remember his birthday. He’d never been anywhere long enough for anyone to care about it. He felt a huge swell of something warm and fuzzy fill his whole body, but it was too much and the only way he could get it out was through his eyes.

“Marrow? Marrow, sweetpea what’s wrong? Are you ok?” his daddy asked, kneeling down nearly to Marrow’s height.

“It’s my birthday?” was all he could manage to get out.

“Well, today is the anniversary of the day I found you. So, it can be your birthday, if you want it to be.” daddy said, his hand rubbing Marrow’s cheek.

Marrow felt his bottom lip start trembling and the warm fuzzy feeling grew even more. He flung himself into his daddy’s arms and sobbed. “Thank you!” he cried, clinging to his daddy as hard as he could.

“You’re welcome honey.” he replied, squeezing Marrow tight. 

“I love you.” Marrow sobbed into his daddy’s shoulder.

“I love you too. So so much.” his daddy replied, kissing the side of his head.

“Sooo… everything’s cool?” aunt Harriet asked.

Daddy stood up, taking Marrow with him and smiled, “Yeah, everything’s cool. How about we get this party started then?” 

Marrow cheered, with everyone else joining him, and they started the party. Marrow played with Oscar, showed him his new toys, and told him all about the day he had with his daddy. They ate cake, Marrow got to try a sip of aunty Elms soda, which was kinda gross, and everyone seemed really impressed by his story about winning the octopus for daddy.

Opening presents made him cry again, he couldn’t remember the last time he got birthday presents. From aunty Elm he got him a mini garden set, uncle Vine got him a pair of noise canceling headphones, aunt Harriet got him a new pair of running shoes, uncle Ironwood got him a new video game called ShovelMold, Mr.Ozpin gave him a scroll that he said was unbreakable, and Winter got him a new book called Blue Eggs and Ham.

About an hour more into the party was when aunt Harriet noticed it.

“Aww, looks like someones all tuckered out.” she said in that voice that he had come to learn was meant for teasing.

He trotted over to where aunt Harriet was and saw daddy sleeping on the couch. Marrow gasped lightly as Aunty Elm took a picture. 

Aunt Harriet laughed, “Oh this is too good. I am never letting him live this down.” Marrow turned to her with a pout, and she stopped laughing and rubbed the side of her neck. “Or I could let this one go. He’s probably had a pretty long day after all.”

Marrow nodded curtly and made a shushing motion to everyone, they all nodded and some even made motioned zipping their lips. Marrow quickly and quietly trotted over to his backpack, grabbed the octopus toy, Octy as he had named him, and put him under his daddy arm. He then ran off to grab a blanket and threw it over his daddy, uncle Vine helped him with straightening it out. 

“I think we should take our leave now.” Mr.Ozpin whispered, “Happy birthday Marrow, it was lovely to see you again.” 

“You to Mr.Ozpin.” he whispered back, “Bye-bye Oscar!”

Oscar waved back at him over Mr.Ozpin’s shoulder and they left, followed by uncle Ironwood who said, “I have some work to catch up on. Make sure he gets plenty of sleep, Marrow.”

“I will! Thank you uncle Ironwood!” he whispered back.

The rest of his family soon went to their own rooms, each wishing him a happy birthday and giving him either a hug or a head pat. Both in aunty Elm’s case. Once they were gone Marrow snuggled under the blanket covering his daddy and cuddled up to his side. He sighed happily, “Good night daddy. I love you.” and he kissed his daddy’s cheek before falling asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! This was really fun to write!!!


	14. School Days And New Developments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Marrow's first day of school. It's gonna be fun! Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Chapter 14! Let's go!

When daddy told him he was going to be going to school, Marrow was worried. The older kids that went to school always told him it was horrible. They said it was full of mean, nasty, people who would pull his tail and call him names. Besides, Miss.Eliot told him he was too stupid to go to school. 

“Daddy. Do I have to go to school?” he asked daddy that night when he was tucking Marrow into bed.

Daddy brushed his bangs out of his face softly, something that always made Marrow feel a bit better. “Yeah buddy. You do. But don’t worry, you’re gonna have fun I’m sure of it. This is supposed to be a really nice school! I bet you’ll make a bunch of friends!” 

Marrow whined and snuggled down under his blankets, “I’m scared. What if they don’t like me? What if they're mean or if I’m not smart enough?”

Daddys face turned really serious and he took one of Marrow’s hands in his, “Marrow, you’re unbelievably smart. I mean you can write your name, you can read really well, that’s way smarter than most of the other kids your age.”

“But-” Marrow tried to say before daddy cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“I want you to do something for me ok?” daddy said, waiting for Marrow to nod before he continued, “I want you to tell me three things that you’re good at, or three things that you like about yourself. Can you do that?”

Marrow hesitated a moment before he nodded again, “I’m… really good at backflips?” Daddy smiled and gestured for him to keep going. “Umm, I’m a good listener, and… I’m a really fast runner!”

Daddy chuckled and kissed the top of his head, “That you definitely are. Now whenever you say something mean about yourself, I want you to say three nice things about yourself. Either something you like about yourself, or something you're good at, or both. Think you can do that for me?”

“I’ll try daddy.” Marrow promised, nodding resolutely at his daddy.

“That’s my little hunter. Now it’s time for bed, you have a big day tomorrow. I love you honey, sleep tight.” his daddy said, giving him another kiss on the forehead.

Marrow smiled and kissed his daddy’s cheek, “I love you too daddy. Goodnight.”

His daddy smiled again before he left the room, leaving the door open a crack for Marrow. He didn’t fall asleep right away, just stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. He would do his best at school tomorrow, for daddy. With that thought, he turned onto his side, hugged Noodle and Socks tight, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. 

The next morning he woke up to gentle scratching on his head, “Wake up Marrow.” the voice of his daddy said softly, “Time to wake up. You’ve got a big day today.”

Marrow grumbled and pulled the blankets over his head, “No.”

“Come on sweetpea.” his daddy chuckled, nudging him again.

“Nooo.” he whined, though there was a smile on his face.

“Marrow~ Wake up~” daddy said sweetly, pulling the blanket off Marrow.

“Don’t wanna.” he replied, pulling the blankets back over himself.

He heard his daddy laugh, “Buddy come on! You have school today! Aren’t you excited?”

Marrow flipped the blanket off him, blew a raspberry, and flipped them back over himself with a giggle. 

“Oh I see.” daddy said with a playful tone, “Well what if I do… this!” Marrow began laughing when he felt fingers poking at his belly and sides. He pushed the blankets off his face and tried batting at his daddy’s hands.

“Noho! I’m awhahake! I’m awake!” he cried under the merciless tickling.

Daddy pulled his hands back and kissed Marrow’s cheek, “That’s what I thought. Now get dressed, we’re having waffles for breakfast!”

Marrow sighed and climbed down the ladder on his bed. He quickly changed into a dark blue shirt with a green and red t-rex on the front, black pants, and pale pink socks. He trotted to the kitchen and pulled himself up onto a chair. 

“Well look who’s finally up!” Aunty Elm said, ruffling his hair. “Excited for your first day at school?”

“I guess.” he replied with a shrug. 

“You guess?” Aunt Harriet interrupted. “What do you mean you guess?”

“I’m… scared.” he admitted in a small voice.

“Scared!?” Aunty Elm cried, “Why on Remnant would my wonderful, adorable, lovable, amazing nephew be scared?”

“He’s worried about the other kids.” daddy said from the counter. 

Marrow nodded and gently took his tail in his hands. He felt a cool hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Uncle Vine looking softly at him.

“Marrow, you needn’t fear what the other children think. I’m going to tell you something my own father told me a long time ago.” Uncle Vine knelt in front of him and took Marrow’s hands in his. “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. It means that those who judge you for simply being yourself shouldn’t matter to you, their opinions are null and void. But those who do love you for you, are the ones you should listen to. Like all of us.”

Marrow smiled at his uncle, “Ok, I’ll try not to let them bother me.”

“Good.” Uncle Vine smiled and kissed his forehead.

Marrow picked up on the sight gasps from the others. He never understood why they always seemed so surprised when Uncle Vine was so nice, he was always like this. His aunts and daddy were really weird sometimes. 

“Alright, waffles are ready!” daddy called, turning around with a large stack of waffles on a plate. Everyone grabbed two waffles, except for Marrow who took one, and began eating. Breakfast went too fast for Marrow’s liking. Every bite, every moment, was just another second closer to school time. Why couldn’t he just be homeschooled? Daddy and the others were really smart, they could teach him everything he needed to know. 

“Alright little pup. Your backpack is all packed up!” Aunty Elm chirped, handing his backpack to him. “You’ve got crayons, pencils, your snack, and some scrap paper!”

“Thank you Aunty Elm.” he sighed, his tail drooping.

Aunty Elm knelt down in front of him, “Come on little pup. It’ll be fun, I promise. I bet you’ll have so much fun the day will just fly by! You probably won’t even miss us!” 

“Right, ok.” he said, a small smile working its way onto his face.

“See you tonight little pup.” Aunty Elm smiled, ruffling his hair and kissing his cheek.

Marrow giggled and hugged his aunty, “I love you.”

“I love you too!” she responded happily, hugging him back tightly.

“Marrow! Say bye to Uncle Vine and Aunt Harriet, we gotta go!” daddy called.

“Ok!” he called back and zoomed over to his uncle and aunt, giving both of them a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Bye Uncle Vine! Bye Aunt Harriet!”

“Goodbye Marrow. Have a nice day at school.” Uncle Vine said calmly, hugging Marrow back firmly.

“See you later short stack.” Aunt Harriet chuckled, ruffling his hair when she hugged him.

Marrow took a deep breath and trotted over to his daddy. He sent a final wave to everyone before he and daddy walked out and made their way outside. As they got into the car Marrow couldn’t stop his worries from growing. Would the teacher be nice? What if they were like Miss.Eliot? What if he was too stupid and daddy sent him away for it? What if they all hated him? These types of thoughts plagued Marrow the whole ride to the school.

When they pulled up to the building, the butterflies in Marrow's gut only grew. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to go to school. As they walked hand in hand into the building and down the hall Marrow felt tears start to form in his eyes. He didn’t want to do this. He wanted to go home. They stopped in front of a white door covered in blue red and white hearts with smiley faces, the smiley faces did not make him feel better. 

“Here we are buddy.” daddy said, knocking on the door.

A moment later the door opened and a lady stood there, she looked nice enough. She had a warm smile and she kinda looked like a shorter, less muscly Aunty Elm. “Hello! Mr.Ebi right? We are so excited to have little Marrow in our class!” her voice was too nice, Marrow wasn’t sure he liked that.

“That’s great! Marrow’s a little shy and he’s a bit worried about the other kids.” daddy said, patting the top of Marrow’s head. 

“Well he has nothing to worry about! We pride ourselves on being very inclusive to people from all walks of life! Rich or poor, human or faunus! Everyone is welcome here!” she chirped. She sounded like she was reading off of something to Marrow.

“Good to hear. I’ve gotta go though, I’ve got work.” daddy said, making Marrow’s anxiety spike. No! He didn’t want daddy to leave! He didn’t want to be alone!

“NO!” he cried, clinging to his daddy’s leg.

“Buddy…” daddy said, kneeling down and petting his head, “I have to go. But I promise you’ll have a nice time. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“This is normal, many of our children get scared like this on the first day.” the lady said. Marrow wished she would shut up.

“Please don’t go!” he sobbed, looking up at daddy. “I don’t want you to go! Please!”

“Oh honey. It’ll be ok… here!” daddy then untied his red armband and tied it around Marrow’s neck. “Now I’ll be with you all day. If you miss me, just look at this and know that I’ll be back soon. Ok?” 

Marrow gently took the now bandana in his hands and looked at daddy. Daddy had that look that made Marrow feel like everything would be ok. He could do this, for daddy. “Ok. I’ll try.”

“That’s my little hunter.” daddy smiled and hugged Marrow, “I love you Marrow. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“I love you too daddy.” Marrow said holding onto his daddy tightly.

Eventually his daddy pulled back and kissed Marrow’s head, “See you later little pup.”

“See you later daddy.” Marrow sniffled, and watched as his daddy walked back down the hall, and out of sight.

“Come on in Marrow. I’ll introduce you to the class.” the lady said, putting a hand on Marrow’s shoulder. He flinched away and held his bandana tightly. She didn’t put her hand back and instead ushered him inside.

He walked cautiously into the room and looked around. It had white walls covered in pictured and smiling animals with words like, “You can do it!” and “You’re a star!” on them. They had a lot of toys and fun looking stuff by the back and a lot of round tables that other kids were sitting at. They were all either drawing or writing something, and they were all human. Marrow held a little tighter to his bandana and felt his tail curl around his leg.

“Class! We have a new student!” the lady called, making everyone look at Marrow. He froze and tried to hide behind her. “He’s a little shy so be nice.” and she walked him to a table with 2 other kids. “Here Marrow, right now we’re doing free time. You can practice your letters in the booklet, you can color in the pictures, or you can read! Whatever you like so long as it’s in the booklet, or on the table.”

Marrow silently nodded and opened the booklet in front of him. He decided to work on his letters, Aunty Elm had been helping him with those last night. He worked quietly and the other kids at the table didn’t say anything to him, just whispered to each other as they worked on their own things. He was used to people whispering around him though, so it was fine.

A few minutes later he heard clapping from the front of the room and he looked up with the other kids, the lady was standing at the front with a too wide smile on her face. “Alright everyone! Come on up the front, everyone sit on a shape!”

Marrow stood with the others and walked to the front, he sat on a blue heart by the side. None of the other kids sat next to him until there were no other places to sit. Marrow fiddled with his tail until the lady spoke again. “Alright everyone! We’re gonna have a fun day today! Let’s start with introducing ourselves! I’ll start and then we’ll go from one side of the carpet to the other! When it’s your turn you’re going to say your name and a fun fact about you! Alright first me! My name is Miss.Taffy! And my fun fact is that my favorite color is blue!”

They all went around the carpet, everyone introducing themselves and sharing a fun fact. Most people choose to share a favorite color, or talk about their pet goldfish or something. Marrow was the very last to go.

“Uhm, my name is Marrow and…” he racked his brain for something interesting to say about himself, “Umm… my daddy is a huntsman.”

“That’s lovely Marrow.” Miss.Taffy said, “Now that was everyone. So, let's move on to the next activity!”

Soon they were all sitting back at their tables, they were making name plates to put on their cubbies. Marrow had practiced writing with Uncle Vine and Aunty Elm before, so he didn’t think his handwriting was too bad. 

“That looks lovely Marrow.” Miss.Taffy said from behind him, startling him, “Have you practiced your letters before?”

“Y-yeah. With my aunty and my uncle.” he stammered, clutching his bandana.

“Well it looks wonderful, keep up the good work.” she smiled, before moving onto the next person. He finished his name and decided to color a bit in the work book. The other kids at the table, he didn’t remember their names, whispered to each other again. He ignored them and just kept coloring until Miss.Taffy called for everyone to finish up. She collected everyone's names and stuck them on the cubbies, then had everyone put their things in the spaces. 

“Ok, we’re gonna practice reading now! Everyone grab a book and we’ll begin. If you have any trouble just raise your hand and I’ll come over to help.” Miss.Taffy called once everyone was situated back in their seats. 

Marrow was actually fairly happy to hear that, he liked reading. So he picked a book from the middle of the table and began reading. He had never read this book before, but he knew almost all of the words. The few he didn’t know he sounded out like daddy taught him and he was good. 

“Having any trouble Marrow?” Miss.Taffy asked from next to Marrow.

“No ma’am.” he replied, pausing his reading to look at her.

“Are you sure? There’s no shame in needing help.” she said, giving him another to wide smile.

“I’m sure.” he said simply, “May I please go back to reading now?” 

Her smile faltered briefly, “Alright, can you read this out loud to me?” 

He quirked an eyebrow at her. Why was she so insistent on this? Did she like this story? If so then he guessed he didn’t mind reading it to her. “Ok.” he easily read out the page to her and she nodded.

“Alright. Well if you need any help then let me know.” she smiled, and moved on to the next kid. 

He finished the book and grabbed another one, he got halfway through that when Miss.Taffy called for everyone’s attention. “Ok everybody! It’s snack time!”

Most of the kids took snacks from the teacher, but he and a few others went to their cubbies and grabbed their own snacks. When Marrow opened the little baggy he saw celery sticks, a juice box, and crackers shaped like animals. He had never had those kinds of crackers before. He ate the celery sticks first and took a few sips of his juice box before trying the crackers. 

He was in love from the first bite. The crackers were the best thing he had ever had since ever. He ate all of them quickly and finished the rest of the juice to wash it down. He had a new favorite food. Sorry Uncle Vine’s pancakes. 

After snack time Miss.Taffy had them sit back on the carpet in the same spots they had before for story time. Marrow knew the story, daddy had read it to him before a few times. It was the story of the maidens, one of his favorite stories. 

Once the story was done Miss.Taffy said it was nap time. She asked for volunteers to help lay out the mats and Marrow raised his hand, but he wasn’t picked. He didn’t really sleep during nap time, just layed on the mat with closed eyes and thought. This wasn’t too bad, he wasn’t having a great time, but it could have been worse. At least no one was being mean to him. And no one had tried to touch or pull his tail. He missed daddy though, and he still wanted to go home. But it wasn’t as bad as it was this morning. 

Eventually Miss.Taffy gently tapped each of them to wake them up. Marrow jumped a bit when she tapped him, but he wasn’t as freaked out compared to this morning. They all went back to their seats and Miss.Taffy said that since it was the first day, the rest of the day would be free play. All the kids quickly scattered to play with the various toys and games throughout the room. Marrow tried to join a few groups but they all just brushed him off or ignored him. Eventually he just settled in the corner alone with a few books next to him. 

He quietly read the rest of the hour, he was tempted to try and join the others again, but decided against it. No one bothered him and time passed quickly as he read, most of the books were ones he hadn’t read before so it was fun to learn the new stories. Finally a bell rang and Miss.Taffy said it was time to pack up. Marrow picked up his books and put them back where they belonged, he helped put away a few other things too. He liked helping to clean back home, though it was more fun cleaning with his family. At least he would be home soon. 

“Ok everybody!” she clapped, “We’re gonna go outside to wait for your parents and guardians. Let’s go! Single file line, no pushing and no cutting.”

Marrow hung back, not wanting to get caught in the mob of other kids that ran to be first in line. He ended up going to the back of the line with his backpack slung over his shoulders. He was excited to be going back home and seeing his family. His tail wouldn’t stop wagging and he was bouncing excitedly from foot to foot.

As soon as they got outside Marrow was looking excitedly around for his daddy or one of his uncles or aunts. But as time passed and other kids were picked up, Marrow’s tail slowed and he sat on the curb. 

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Miss.Taffy said softly. 

“Mhm.” he nodded, looking sadly out for his family. He was starting to get scared. Would they leave him here? Did they forget him? Did they not want him anymore? Did he do something wrong? Did something happen on a mission? Was everyone ok? His worries grew with each passing minute, and he felt tears starting to form in his eyes.

When all the other kids had left, it was only Miss.Taffy and Marrow. She was sitting next to him and trying to comfort him as he hugged his tail close. It was just when Marrow was really starting to believe that daddy wasn’t coming that he heard it.

“Marrow! Marrow sweetheart I’m so sorry I’m late!” his daddy’s voice called. Marrow whipped his head up and jumped to his feet.

“Daddy!” he cried, rushing to his daddy and leaping into his arms. He clung to his daddy as he was spun around in his arms.

“I’m so sorry honey.” he apologized, “The mission ran longer than expected.”

“Mr.Ebi, I hope you know this can’t become a habit. Huntsman or not.” Miss.Taffy said, her voice not super cheery for once.

“It won’t. I promise.” daddy replied. “From now on if i can’t make it, I’ll be sure to call ahead and get someone else to pick him up. I’m sorry to make you both wait so long.”

“It’s fine. Just don’t make this a habit.” Miss.Taffy replied, before smiling again, “It was lovely to meet you today Marrow. I can’t wait to see you again!”

“It was nice to meet you too Miss.Taffy.” he replied politely.

Daddy held his free hand out and shook Miss.Taffy’s hand. “Have a nice day Miss.Taffy. I’ll see you next time.”

Miss.Taffy shook his hand in return, “You have a nice day too Mr.Ebi. You as well, Marrow.”

Marrow cuddled close to his daddy as they left and he sighed happily. He should know by now, daddy wouldn’t leave him. Daddy loved him way too much to just abandon him. He held tight to his daddy the whole ride back home. They talk about his day, if he had a nice time, if he made any friends, boring stuff like that.

Once they were home Aunty Elm was quick to snatch Marrow up from daddy’s arms. He giggled as she kissed all over his face and spun him around.

“Little pup! Oh we missed you so much! Especially your daddy!” she sang, cuddling Marrow close and smiling at daddy. “He was a mess. “I hope Marrow’s ok. I hope Marrow is having fun.” and soooo much more!”

Daddy groaned, “Come on Elm. It wasn’t that bad.”

“No.” Uncle Vine said calmly, rubbing the top of Marrow’s head. “You were far worse. Elm is understating. For once.”

Aunty Elm burst out laughing and handed Marrow to Uncle Vine. Marrow giggled at his daddy’s betrayed face. “I believe you daddy.” Marrow giggled.

Daddy sighed and ruffled Marrow’s hair, “Thanks buddy. I can always count on you.”

“Hey look who’s back!” Aunt Harriet called as she entered the common room. “You have a nice day at school?”

“It was alright.” he shrugged.

“You can tell us everything over dinner.” Uncle Vine said, placing Marrow back in daddy’s arms. “We’re having chicken parmesan.”

Marrow smiled and nuzzled into his daddy, “I missed you all.” he said, making everyone else “aww” in response.

“We missed you too little pup!” Aunt Elm exalted.

“Very much.” Uncle Vine added.

Aunt Harriet pressed her lips against his cheek with a loud smack, “We all missed you a bunch. But hey, we’re together now! So let’s get dinner started! Ya know, before Clover starts crying… again.”

“I did not cry!” daddy argued, his face turning red.

“Oh no! Of course not!” Aunty Elm said, “You didn’t cry, you wept!”

Daddy grumbled and his face grew redded, “Hush. The lot of you.”

“Why are you so red?” Marrow asked.

“No reason Marrow. Go get cleaned up for dinner.” daddy replied with a sigh as he put Marrow on the ground.

Marrow giggled and trotted over to his room's bathroom to get cleaned up. He greeted all his toys as he made his way to the bathroom, and got cleaned up as quick as he could. He wanted to go back outside and spend the rest of the day with his family.

When he got back to the common room he saw Aunty Elm holding daddy in a headlock. “Say it! Say it!”

“No!” he laugh-shouted as he struggled to get out of her hold.

“Say you cried like a little baby!” she pressed.

“Never!” he shot back.

Marrow giggled and that drew Aunt Harriet attention, “Hey short stack. You wanna help me and Vine in the kitchen while these two duke it out?”

“Yes please!” he grinned, his tail wagging happily.

They entered the kitchen and quickly set about making dinner. Marrow set the table, helped beat the eggs, and mixed the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Once everything was cooked and set, Aunt Harriet called Aunty Elm and daddy to eat. They came inside nudging each other and laughing.

The first topic brought up during the meal was Marrow’s first day at school. He told them about Miss.Taffy liking his handwriting, how she really seemed to like the story he was reading and wanted him to read it aloud, how the other kids didn’t seem to like him too much, how amazing the crackers they packed for him were, and how it had a lot of new books to read. 

“Well it seems like you had a pretty nice day over all.” Aunt Harriet said once he finished telling them about his day.

“It was ok.” he shrugged.

Aunty Elm nudged his shoulder, “I bet once you’ve been there a little longer you're gonna make so many friends, you won’t know what to do with yourself!”

Daddy squeezed his shoulder and smiled at him, “You just gotta give it some time. It’ll get better.”

Marrow thought over his day and nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Course I am!” daddy grinned, ruffling Marrows hair playfully. “I’m usually right.”

Marrow looked at him and slowly shook his head, making everyone else at the table laugh loudly. 

“Why are you all so mean to me?” daddy asked, as he pouted and poked at his food.

“Because we love you!” Aunty Elm grinned. “And because it’s fun!”

Everyone laughed and Marrow leaned into his daddy’s side, daddy put an arm around him and smiled. “I’m proud of you buddy, today was a big step, and I’m glad you had a nice day.” he said, softly enough for only Marrow to hear as he kissed his head and put an arm around him. Marrow sighed contentedly. So long as he could keep coming home to his family, then he could handle anything school threw at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you did leave a comment or kudos!! They mean a bunch!


	15. Overdue Meetings And The Ties That Bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover schedules a long overdue visit for Marrow to meet his grandparents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh chapter 15 is here! Whoop whoo!

Clover hadn’t been this excited and nervous to visit his parents in a long time. It was winter break for Marrow’s school, and so Clover was taking the week off to visit his parents. They had been badgering Clover to bring Marrow over since he adopted him and it was finally time. He knew that they would love Marrow the second they laid eyes on him, but that didn’t stop the worry that invaded his heart. 

They were leaving the day after tomorrow and Marrow had burrowed himself away in his room. He wasn’t letting anyone in giving “I need to concertate!” as the reason why. Clover suspected he was making nondescript winter holiday gifts for his parents. He was such a sweetheart like that. Clover had already packed for the trip, all the clothes and toiletries he would need, along with some extra things in case he or Marrow needed them. Mostly in case Marrow needed them. 

He had bought the manta and train tickets in advance, first class round trip. He would have just gone coach or maybe business, but this was Marrow’s first time on a manta and on a train. He wanted it to be as fun as possible for him. Plus it was his very first time ever out of the kingdom. Clover really really wanted this to be a positive experience for him, he didn’t want to risk putting Marrow off traveling.

James had been surprisingly with Clover taking the days off that he needed. Not that he was ever stingy with days off of course, but still, he had actually seemed pretty happy to send Clover on his way. Though it could have been that he was doing this for Marrow, his son had a special way of wiggling his way into people's hearts and staying there. Hell, he had managed to endear himself to some of the most powerful people in Remnant, simply by being himself. 

“You have your worrying face on.” Elm said, sliding up next to him. 

He chuckled, “That obvious?”

“I would say you wear your heart on your sleeve, but you’re allergic to those sooo.” Elm grinned, bumping her shoulder against his. 

He laughed, “Yeah, yeah I’m a sleeveless wonder. What’s your point?”

“My point is that you’re worried. And I for one, would like to know why.” she said, looking intently at Clover.

“Just… this is gonna be a lot of firsts for Marrow. And he’s meeting my parents, HIS grandparents. I want this to be a good experience for him, and I don’t want him to get overwhelmed or anything.” he explained lamely. “You know what I mean?”

“I do.” she replied, throwing an arm around Clover. “But worrying so much about it, and trying to force it to be perfect won’t help. If something goes wrong, then you’ll handle it. You’re not the leader of the most elite team in Altas, because you crack under pressure after all.”

He let out a soft laugh, “Yeah, you’re right. I need to stop freaking out about this. It’ll be a great trip, and we’re gonna have a great time.”

“Exactly!” Elm exalted, jostling Clover. “Don’t doubt yourself! It's going to be amazing!”

Clover grinned at her, “What would I do without your infectious positivity?”

“Fall into despair.” she answered without hesitation.

He barked out a laugh, “Probably!” Clover did his best to take Elm’s advice and not let the reunion bother him too much. But the closer they got to actually being at his parents’ house, the more anxious he became. 

The next day he helped Marrow pack for the week-long trip. Really it was him packing the essentials while Marrow picked which toys and such he would bring. Poor little guy seemed genuinely worried about leaving anyone behind. It was eventually decided he would bring Noodle and Trax the t-rex. 

“Are you excited to meet your grandparents?” Clover asked innocently, while in truth he was incredibly worried. 

Marrow seemed to deflate a bit, “...yes?”

Clover softened and tilted Marrow’s face towards him, “It’s ok if you're worried. You don’t have to fake being ok or being excited to me.”

Marrow nodded, “I’m… scared. I’m scared they won’t like me. I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Clover smiled at him, “Marrow, they haven’t even met you and they already love you.” 

“How can they love me if they never met me?” Marrow asked.

“Well, they love you as much as people who haven’t met you can. But I promise, they are going to love you with all their hearts when they meet you.” Clover said, gently pinching Marrow’s cheek.

Marrow smiled and pulled his face away. Clover pinched his other cheek and Marrow giggled, turning his face the other way. Their little game lasted a few more seconds before Clover pinched both of Marrow’s cheeks, and Marrow pulled back, losing his balance and falling backwards. Marrow giggled and so did Clover before they went back to packing. 

“I mean it though Marrow, you don’t need to worry about a thing. I promise, this will be really fun.” Clover assured, ruffling Marrow’s hair.

Marrow nodded and offered Clover a small smile, going to choose a few books to take with him. Clover felt a few of his worries ease at the conversation, at least he didn’t need to worry about Marrow too much. 

The next day was a bit hectic. Apparently Marrow hadn’t slept well the night before so he was grumpy all morning. He had to rush breakfast so that they could make it on time for their flight. The flight depot was full of people and very loud, something an already tired and grouchy Marrow didn’t like in the slightest. And, as it turns out, it was all for nothing as their flight was going to be late anyways. 

Clover sat heavily on a cargo box and tried to manage a smile at Marrow, “You can get some sleep before we get on the manta at least. That’s good!” 

Marrow was curled against his side, looking sullen. “I don’t wanna sleep.”

Clover sighed, “You gotta sleep buddy. Or else you’ll be grouchy the rest of the day.”

“I’m not grouchy.” he said grouchily.

“Marrow…” Clover started.

“No! I don’t wanna sleep!” Marrow protested, his voice rising.

Clover turned to the overtired child at his side, “Marrow, don’t raise your voice. You need to rest, you're over tired and over stimulated.”

“NO!” Marrow shouted, pushing off Clover. 

Clover pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache forming. “Marrow-”

“NO! I DON’T WANNA NAP!” Marrow yelled, stamping his feet on the ground. “I DON’T WANNA! I DON’T WANNA! I DON’T WANNA!”

Clover sighed, “Ok. I see how it’s gonna be.” and with that he got off the cargo box, threw Marrow over his shoulder, and walked away. Marrow was screaming the whole way and pounding on Clover’s back. Clover ignored it and kept walking until he found a secluded and quiet spot. He finally put Marrow down and held his hands to keep him from hitting him anymore.

“Marrow, it’s alright, just calm down honey, it’s ok.” he said soothingly, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of Marrows hands.

Marrow pulled at his hands, still screeching with angry tears falling down his face. Clover just kept rubbing his hands and speaking in a calm even tone. Marrow’s tears eventually slowed, and his screaming turned to whimpers. Once he was fully calmed Clover released his hands and opened his arms, silently offering a hug to the boy. Marrow sniffled and hugged himself, declining Clover’s offer.

“You ok buddy? You wanna talk about what happened?” he gently asked, lowering his arms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so angry.” Marrow said softly, looking at his feet guiltily. 

Clover gently shushed him, “I know it’s just cause you were tired, plus it’s loud and weird here. I’m not surprised you got a bit upset. But maybe next time if you feel angry, or tired, or anything like that, just tell me. We’ll find a quiet place for you to calm down, or take a nap, or whatever you need. Ok? I’m sorry for not thinking of this sooner, I’ll try to do better next time ok?”

“Ok, I’ll try more next time too.” Marrow said, crawling tiredly to Clover’s side and cuddling up to him. “I’m tired.”

“Alright. I’ll wake you up when we get on the manta. You can sleep the rest of the way if you like, sound good?”

“Mhm.” Marrow lethargically agreed, nodding his head before closing his eyes and drifting off.

Once he was asleep Clover let out a soft breath. Crisis averted. All and all that could have gone way worse. First real tantrum, successful. And now, he wanted a nap too. Maybe he could catch a few Z’s on the manta. For now he would just make sure Marrow’s sleep was uninterrupted. Though he should probably ask why he hadn’t slept well last night, he hoped it wasn’t anything too bad.

The next two hours were boring, he mostly just scrolled through his… scroll, and texted the team. They were on a mission at the moment, apparently there was a big nest of sabers in an abandoned mine. He sent them a selfie showing Marrow cuddled asleep on his side. Elm loved it and Harriet said, “Clover get out of the picture, your ugly mug is overshadowing Marrow’s cuteness.” 

He chuckled and shook his head, he was gonna miss those three this week. A sentiment he’s not sure he would have had before Marrow came around. Sure Clover cared about his team, what kind of monster would he be if he didn’t? But Marrow had made them a real family, hell even James had become like family to him. It was nice to have people who he would miss so much, ya know, outside of his parents. 

When he heard the call for his and Marrow’s manta, he gently scooped Marrow into his arms and moved to where they were docking. Passenger mantas were a bit different to transport mantas. These were bigger, and had different sections, first class, business class, and coach. He and Marrow were in the first class section, so more comfortable seats with more leg room, extra service, and privacy. Something Clover was more than happy to spring for so that Marrow would be comfortable. Clover held Marrow close as he got them checked in, the poor kid was so out of it. 

Once they were settled into their seats Marrow conked out again and Clover chuckled. Hopefully his sleep schedule wouldn’t be too thrown off by all this napping. The flight was luckily uneventful, Marrow woke part way through, and Clover was suddenly very happy he got Marrow the window seat. The young faunus’s tail was wagging furiously as he stared wide eyed out the window. 

“Pretty great view huh?” Clover asked with a smile. 

Marrow nodded vigorously, “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it’s almost half as beautiful as me.” Clover joked, earning a flat look from Marrow. “What? I can be beautiful too! I mean, just look at me!”

“Daddy. You need to stop.” Marrow deadpanned, turning back to the window. 

Clover snickered and ruffled Marrow’s hair, “I’m glad you're having fun.”

Marrow giggled but didn’t turn back to Clover, too busy looking out the window. The rest of the flight went peacefully, and Clover even managed to get some sleep before they landed. They left the plane, Marrow all but skipping as they went. Clover followed along with a smile, happy that Marrow was happy. 

They made their way to the train station, Marrow skipping alongside Clover and holding his hand. The boy's head was swiveling this way and that, trying to look at everything at once. Clover held his hand firmly, he knew Marrow had a habit of… exploring.

“Marrow, stay close. I don’t want to lose you.” Clover warned the excited faunus at his side.

Marrow nodded at him, “Ok daddy. Are we gonna go on the train soon?”

“Yeah, but we have to get to the train station first.” Clover explained with a fond smile. His son was the most adorable kid in the whole world, no contest. 

Marrow continued to look at their surroundings with wide shining eyes and a wildly wagging tail. Clover chuckled and scooped Marrow up, giving his cheek a big kiss, making the young boy giggle and wriggle in Clover’s grip. Clover grinned and hoisted Marrow onto his shoulder, walking with an extra bounce in his step to make the boy laugh.

The train station was a bit less hectic than the flight depot, but still fairly crazy. So he held Marrow close to his chest and rubbed his back. They got into the train without problem and Marrow was bouncing around their car, looking out the window, going to the door, back to the window, then to Clover, and back to the window. 

“This is amazing!” he beamed, bouncing in his seat by the window.

Clover smiled, “Yeah, this is pretty great. The ride should be a few hours, so you might want to get out one of your books, or your toys.”

Marrow looked contemplative before his face morphed into a mischievous grin and he pounced on Clover. “I wanna play with you!”

“Not a lot of games we can play on the train bud. I mean, there’s eye spy, story, rock paper scissors, the compliment game… ok so there’s a few games we can play.” Clover admitted, “So what do you wanna do?”

“I wanna… bother you.” Marrow giggled, laying across Clover’s lap.

Clover gave an indulgent smile, “You wanna bother me? Why?”

“Because your botherable.” Marrow grinned.

Clover chuckled, “I think you're still tired.”

Marrow hummed and rolled his head back before looking at Clover with a straight face, “Nope.”

“Yes you are.” Clover smirked.

“No I’m not.” Marrow insisted.

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.” 

“Am not!”

“Are not!”

“Am too!”

Clover grinned, “Gotcha!”

Marrow looked confused before he gasped, “You played me!”

Clover snorted, “Yup. Now you have to nap, them’s the rules.”

Marrow pouted at him and poked his cheek, “You tricked me. That isn’t fair.”

Clover poked him back, “Well what do you think is a fair way to get you to nap?”

The young faunus started at him for a moment, “Hug?”

“Is that your answer, or are you trying to distract me?” Clover smirked, pulling Marrow into a hug.

“I plead the fifth.” Marrow replied, making Clover laugh. 

“Who taught you that?” he asked, pulling away to look Marrow in the eyes.

“Uncle Vine! He said it when Aunty Elm asked him if he ate all the cookies.” Marrow answered cheerfully.

“Is that s-hey! You’re distracting me!” Clover grinned, tickling Marrow’s belly in revenge.

Marrow squealed and giggled, “Nohoho! Daddy! Stahap it!”

Clover grinned and kissed Marrow’s cheek, “I’ll forgive it this time. But there will be consequences next time.”

Marrow looked mildly concerned, “Consequences?”

“Probably just more tickles if anything.” Clover playfully reassured, accenting his point with another poke to Marrow’s belly. Marrow giggled again and snuggled against Clover’s chest, smiling. 

“You're a good daddy.” Marrow murmured, tracing Clover’s shirt with his finger.

Clover felt his heart warm at the words, “Well you're a good son, so it works out pretty well.”

“I mean it. You’re a good daddy!” Marrow insisted before softening, “You’re nice to me, and you actually kept me, and you love me. So… thank you, for all that.” 

Clover smiled and brushed Marrows bangs out of his face, “You’ve done a lot for me too ya know. You make me happy, you do nice things for me for no reason, and you are the most important thing in my life. So thank you, for everything.”

Marrow looked up at him before burying his face in Clovers chest and hugging him tight. Clover hugged him back just as tight, ignoring the pressure of tears behind his eyes. Eventually they fell asleep like that, and it was Marrow’s tugging on his shirt that woke Clover up. 

“Daddy, we’re here. The man's voice said so!” Marrow said, tugging a bit harder on Clover.

“Ok, ok, I’m up.” Clover slurred, rubbing his eyes. “How long have you been up?”

“A few minutes. Now come on! We gotta get ready!” Marrow insisted, hopping down and looking expectantly at Clover.

Clover nodded and stood, stretching before he grabbed their bags from the overhead department. A few minutes later the train stopped and Marrow held onto Clover’s pant leg as they filed out of the train. Clover scanned the station for his parents, he had told them before getting on the train that they would be here around now, so they should probably be here. 

“Clover! Clover over here!” he heard an all to familiar voice call. Turning to the voice he was a wildly waving arm connected to his mother with his father right next to her.

“Mom! Dad!” he called back, grinning wide, “You ready Marrow?”

“Umm, I think so.” Marrow said timidly, his hand tightening a bit on Clover’s leg.

Clover smiled at him, “They’re gonna love you. I know it.”

Marrow nodded as they walked over to Clover’s parents. Clover was quickly swept into a hug by his mom, she looked a bit different from when he last saw her. Her warm brown hair was greying a bit and she had crows feet at the corners of her sea green eyes but she looked fit as ever. If Clover were to bet, she could probably still whoop his butt at armwrestling. His dad still looked the same though. Gunmetal grey hair, warm brown eyes, and basically what Clover imagined himself looking when he was older. 

“Hey mom.” Clover breathed, hugging his mother back. It felt so good to hug his mom, it felt like forever since he last got a good mom hug. 

“Hello honey.” she greeted. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too.” he said truthfully.

His dad cleared his throat, “Do I get a hug to? Or are those reserved for your mother?”

Clover laughed and hugged his dad close, “Hey dad, it’s great to see you.”

“You too sweetheart.” His dad chuckled before holding Clover at arms length and looking him up and down. “You cut your hair.”

Clover ran his fingers through his hair, “Yeah, the curls were getting a bit hard to handle. Plus, this looks a bit more… professional I suppose.”

“Yes yes, we love the new hair.” his mom waved off, “Now, where is this little Marrow you told us so much about.”

Clover looked behind him, Marrow was hiding behind his legs and looked scared. “It’s ok buddy, come say hi.” he said softly, offering his hand to Marrow.

Marrow looked between him and his hand before he took it and allowed himself to be pulled into the spotlight. His parents looked at each other before kneeling down to Marrow’s level.

“Hi. I’m Ivy, Clover’s mom. You can call me grandma if you want. Or nana, or whatever you want.” his mom said with a kind smile.

“And I’m Ash, Clover’s dad. You can call me grandpa, or pa, whatever you want.” his dad said gently. 

Marrow pushed back a bit into Clover’s legs, “Um… hi. I’m Marrow.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Clover’s told us so much about you.” his mom smiled.

“Wouldn’t shut about you really.” his dad chuckled before mom elbowed him in the ribs.

“Ash!” she hissed, “Be nice!”

“I am!” he protested, “I loved hearing all about my new grandson!”

Marrow scuffed his feet, “Are you… really ok? With me I mean? Even though I’m… a faunus?”

Another looked shared between the two, before his mother spoke. “Sweetheart. You being a faunus doesn’t mean a thing. So long as you’re you, that’s enough for us. We love you no matter what.”

“You do?” Marrow asked, “But you just met me.”

“Then let’s all get to know each other, then we can love you even more.” his dad smiled kindly.

Marrow gave a tentative smile and nodded, “Ok.”

Clover let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and smiled at his family. All things considered? This meeting was a complete success. He felt damn lucky to have such amazing parents. 

“Ready to head out?” he asked once his parents stood back up.

“Yup. We spent the whole of yesterday cleaning the house top to bottom for you two!” his mom beamed. “Oh! I’m just so excited to have my two boys home for the holidays! This is going to be so wonderful!”

His dad chuckled, “You’re mother hasn’t stopped talking about today since the moment you told us you were coming.”

“I’ll bet!” Clover laughed, though both quickly stopped when she turned back with a glare.

The drive back to his parents house was peaceful. His parents seemed to have a blast pointing out things to Marrow. Nice restaurants they could go to, cute shops they thought he would like, stuff like that. Clover was happy to see Marrow relax a bit in the car, he really seemed captured by the little town his parent’s called home. 

Clover really needed to visit more, he didn’t see them nearly enough since they had all moved. He went to Atlas, back when he was first attending school, and his parents came here a few months after his graduation. They used to live near Haven, but he had been insistent on Atlas, something that had been a huge argument between him and his parents. They had stayed there only until he graduated so that he would have somewhere familiar to come back to if anything happened. But once he was fully moved into Atlas and graduated, they moved to the little town. It was close enough to the capital to be safe, but far enough that you didn’t feel like you were living in the big city. 

“Here we are!” his mom chirped as they pulled up to their little house. 

It was a nice cottage, with a green shingled roof, cream colored outside, and green painted frames around the windows. It was quaint and charming, perfect for his parents. They all climbed out of the car and grabbed their bags, Clover took a deep breath and smiled. He had missed this place. Atlas was great, but it didn’t hold a candle to the real outdoors. Indoor gardens wish they could smell like this!

Once they were inside and they removed their shoes his mom was quick to direct. “Clover you and Marrow can stay in the guest room, unless you would like your own room Marrow.”

“I… want to stay with daddy please.” Marrow said quietly.

“Alright. Clover, go show Marrow the guest room. I’ll get some cocoa started!” his mom beamed, practically bouncing to the kitchen. How she was so spry in her old age Clover didn’t know, but he really hoped he would be like that when he was older.

Clover guided Marrow to the guest room. A smallish room, painted a soft pastel yellow with two big twin beds, a little window, a night stand between the beds, and a closet. It was a cozy room, one Clover always loved staying in when he visited his parents.

When they unpacked and put all their clothes and such away, and changed into their pajamas, Clover laid back on the bed and looked at Marrow. “How you feeling buddy?” he asked.

“I’m ok. It’s a lot I guess.” Marrow shrugged, sitting on his bed, his legs swinging idly.

Clover hummed, “I’m not surprised. But you’ve been doing really well. I’m proud of you.”

Marrow nodded and yawned, “I’m tired.”

“Hi tired. I’m dad.” Clover grinned.

Marrow gave him a flat look and lightly punched at his arm. “No. That was worse than Auntie Elm’s cooking.” Clover barked out a laugh at that. 

“At least it’s not as bad as Harriet’s cooking!” he grinned.

“Nothing is as bad as Auntie Harriet’s cooking. But your jokes come close.” Marrow replied.

Clover put a hand to his chest in mock hurt, “They do not! My jokes are the best!”

Marrow giggled, “No. No they are not.”

“You’re killing me Marrow, you’re killing your father.” he replied, biting back a smile.

“Oh nooo!” Marrow said, dramatically falling onto Clover’s lap, “You can’t die! I like you so much!”

Clover finally let his grin slip, “Aww, so you want me to keep telling my jokes?”

“I don’t like you that much.” Marrow deadpanned, making Clover burst out laughing again.

“You're just so sassy today.” he giggled, picking Marrow up and hugging him, “What am I going to do with you?”

“Give me hugs and kisses? Love me forever?” Marrow suggested, before hugging Clover back.

Clover hummed, seeminging to think it over. “Yeah, sounds doable. So long as you do the same.”

Marrow nodded and kissed Clover’s cheek, “Deal.”

Clover grinned and kissed Marrow’s cheek in return, “Alright buddy. Time for your nap.”

“But I’ve been napping all day!” Marrow argued, though Clover could see how tired he still was. 

“Yeah, but naps are important. Trust me, one day you're gonna wish you could nap so much.” he joked, carefully placing the young faunus back on the bed. Marrow sighed but quickly got under the sheets. Clover grabbed his toys and handed them to him before tucking him in snuggly.

“There.” he smiled, petting down Marrow’s back, “Snug as a bug in a rug.”

Marrow’s eyes dropped and hugged his toys, “I love you daddy. Good night.”

“Sleep sweet Marrow, I love you too.” he said, gently kissing Marrow’s forehead before he fell soundly asleep. He turned off the lights, shut the door as quietly as he could, then headed downstairs. Time to catch up with his parents and plan out the next few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!!!


	16. A Bit Of Bonding And Energy Boosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover and Marrow spend some quality time with grandma and grandpa.

“And this was Clover on his first big fishing trip with his dad!” his mom grinned, pointing at a much younger him holding a large fish with a proud smile.

“Why’s he all wet?” Marrow asked.

“He fell into the water. It’s how he caught the fish, he managed to grab it while he was under.” his dad smirked.

“Dad!” Clover protested, “He doesn’t need to hear that part!”

His mom laughed, “But you were so cute! You looked so proud holding the fish!”

“Mooom!” he whined.

They had been looking through photo albums all afternoon, and Clover was about 2 seconds away from burning all the pictures. Why did every single picture come with an embarrassing story from when he was little? Why?

“Oh! And this one was from his first tap recital!” and with that Clover was done.

“NOPE!” he cried, snatching the book from his mother. “We’re ending it there! I will not relive my tap days!”

“You used to tap dance?” Marrow asked with wide eyes.

Clover grumbled, holding the book close to his chest, “Yes. And it sucked. Those other kids were so mean!”

His dad leaned towards Marrow and stage whispered, “Tap kids can be vicious.”

Marrow nodded and patted Clover’s leg, “I’m sorry daddy.”

Clover smiled a bit and ruffled Marrow’s hair, “It’s ok buddy, but why don’t we look at some other pictures. Or better yet, do something else.”

But sadly his mother had already grabbed another photo album, “This one is mostly baby pictures!” 

Clover groaned loudly. This was gonna be a long day.

After many MANY baby pictures, more embarrassing stories, and merciless teasing from his parents, they moved away from the photo albums and had lunch. It was during this time that his dad had suggested the ice fishing trip.

“Ice fishing? Are you sure?” Clover asked, “You don’t think Marrow’s a bit… young?”

His dad only laughed, “You were his age when I first took you! Come on! You wanna go ice fishing right Marrow?”

Marrow looked mildly uncomfortable, “I… guess?”

“You’ll have fun I promise. We’ll make sure to find a nice, quiet spot where people won’t bother us. You can’t make a good catch around noise.” his dad explained, smiling warmly at Marrow.

Marrow looked skeptical, and glanced at Clover who shrugged and nodded at the door, a silent offer to do it. The young faunus seemed to contemplate for a moment before he nodded. 

“Ok.” he agreed, making Ash grin wide and ruffle Marrow’s hair.

Once they were all dressed, they headed out to the ice. Ash was leading, Marrow was behind him, and Clover took up the back. He was mostly focused on how excited Marrow seemed to be getting. His tail was wagging furiously and his head was darting around, like he was trying to see everything at once. It was honestly adorable and Clover subtly took a video and sent it to the others with the caption “We’ll make a camper of him yet.” 

Once they reached the lake and cut their hole in the ice, Ash set about explaining how it all worked to Marrow. Clover smiled softly, remembering when this had all been explained to him. 

Sitting around the hole in the ice was about as exciting as it could be, and Clover noticed Marrow squirming and sighing more than once. He felt a bit bad for the kid. Fishing wasn’t for everyone, especially not for a kid as active as Marrow.

“Hey buddy, you doin ok?” Clover said, his voice sounding loud in the silence around him.

Marrow opened his mouth to respond when his fishing pole started to bend. He gasped and grabbed the pole, startled when he slid forward a little. Clover quickly pulled him back.

“Looks like you got something.” Ash grinned, “You got this Marrow!”

Marrow began reeling the catch in, pulling hard on the pole as Clover held him steady. Soon the fish burst out of the water and flopped around on the ice. Marrow looked star struck at the fish before Clover hugged him.

“Great job buddy! Look at that thing! It’s huge!” Clover beamed.

Ash hummed, “I’d say it’s even bigger than the one you caught at his age.”

“Really?” Marrow gasped, his tail wagging wildly.

Clover looked at the fish, “Hmmm. Yeah, I think you're right dad. What are we gonna do with it?”

“That’s up to Marrow. You wanna put him back, or do you wanna have him for dinner?” Ash asked, looking at Marrow expectantly.

“I wanna put him back. He might have a family, I don’t wanna take him away from that.” Marrow answered.

Clover ruffled his hair and took a picture of Marrow holding the fish before they released it back into the lake. Ash looked proudly at them both, and Clover smiled right back at him. A silent understanding passing between them. Clover finally knew how his own father had felt all those years ago when he had caught his first fish. Pride and joy being chief among them. They fished for a bit longer after that, Clover catching most of the big ones, Marrow catching a few more of his own, and his father caught a boot. A good day really. 

“Mom! We’re back!” Clover called once they entered the house, a cooler of fish at his side.

“Don’t get any snow in this house or I swear!” his mom threatened from somewhere inside, making Clover and Ash laugh. Marrow looked worried and was very careful when taking his snow covered clothes off. 

“Don’t worry buddy. She won’t do anything, it’s just how she talks.” Clover explained, seeming to relax Marrow a bit.

Marrow walked into the kitchen to greet Ivy, smiling when he saw a cup of hot cocoa waiting for him at the table. The mug was even his favorite color. Clover chuckled and thanked her as he was handed a mug of coffee. “So, I guess we’re having fish for dinner then.” 

Clover chuckled at her question and nodded. “We got a good haul in today. It’ll definitely be enough to feed everyone.” 

Ash let out a sharp laugh. “Ya mean you got a good haul. All I caught was a boot.” The two shared a laugh as Marrow enjoyed his cocoa. The adults failed to notice that he seemed to be getting more hyper as the mug got emptier.

Ivy chuckled and turned towards the stove. “Well, I’m sure you boys are hungry after a hard day of fishing. Lucky for you, I’ve almost finished with lunch. Go ahead and enjoy your drinks at the table while I finish up.” Clover nodded and took a seat next to Marrow, finally noticing how empty his cup was getting. He ignored it for now and focused on warming himself up with the coffee his mother had given him. 

Dinner was served a few minutes later, Marrow was practically bouncing in his seat. Clover was surprised that he had so much energy seeing as it was almost bedtime. Oh well, it would just have to be a few minutes late. Nothing he couldn’t handle.

“Daddy, do you wanna play outside with me?” Marrow asked suddenly, looking at Clover with wide shining eyes.

Clover chuckled, “I don’t see why not. Either of you wanna join?” 

Ivy smiled, “I’ll watch, but you know I’m not too fond of the snow.”

Ash shook his head, “I’m a bit tired from all the fishing. So I’ll just join your mother.”

Clover shrugged and got up, “Your loss. Come on Marrow, let get you-” Marrow suddenly darted away before Clover could finish. “...changed.”

“You used to do the same thing.” Ivy giggled. “You’d get so excited to go outside and play, and you’d race to get ready. It was adorable.”

Clover just rolled his eyes and went after his run away son. He found him already fully dressed to go out, and bouncing on his feet. Once Clover had been spotted Marrow raced over to him and began pulling on his hand, “Come on come on come on! Let’s go!”

Clover laughed and put on his boots, puffy vest, gloves and hat before heading out with Marrow. The second they were outside Marrow zoomed through the backyard with a bright laugh, before slipping in some snow and face planting. Clover was about to rush over to him, but Marrow just popped back up and kept running around. 

He watched Marrow run around for a bit longer until the young faunus ran up to him and pulled him along out to play. Clover chuckled and helped him make snowmen, a pretty decent snow fort, and they even had a mini snowball fight. But when Clover was starting to feel a bit run down, Marrow was still running at 110%, Clover almost admired his energy. Almost. 

“Marrow. Buddy, it’s getting close to bedtime.” he lightly panted. 

“Never! I’m never gonna sleep again! I’m gonna stay up forever!” Marrow giggled, swinging his legs from his perch on a branch in one of the trees.

Clover chuckled tiredly, “Marrow please. You gotta go to sleep sometime.”

“NEVEEEERRRRR!” Marrow cried, shooting his hands in the air. This made him lose his balance and Clover shot forward, quickly catching him before he hit the ground. Clover sighed a bit with Marrow clutched tightly to his chest, the boy was giggling up a storm.

“Honey, you gotta stop giving me heart attacks.” he murmured, not quite loud enough for Marrow to hear.

Marrow just giggled more, “Again! Again!”

Clover looked down at him and scoffed through a laugh, “Again? Seriously?”

“Again!” Marrow cheered.

Clover laughed, “No way! I am not doing that again you tiny terror!” He began tickling Marrow in revenge, making the faunus shriek and giggle in his arms.

“DADDYHEHEHE! NOHO!” he laughed batting at Clover’s hands.

Clover blew a raspberry onto Marrow’s belly, making Marrow shriek louder. Clover did eventually stop his playful attack and hoped that it was enough to tire Marrow out. Goodness knows he was ready for bed even if it wasn’t nearly late enough.

To his slight disappointment, Marrow was still wiggling in his arms in an attempt to get free. He was almost shocked by just how much energy his son had when he remembered one crucial detail. His mother had given Marrow a full cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Marrow was already a hyper kid so a mug of cocoa definitely didn’t help his energy level. 

“Why did I let you drink all that cocoa.” he grumbled, but there was no ill intent behind it. 

Marrow was giggling furiously in his arms, his tail wagging up a small breeze. The operative smiled down at his son, now how could he ever be annoyed with that little face? A megawatt grin, sparkling sky blue eyes, and the cutest little dimples you ever saw. Clover chuckled, Marrow certainly had him wrapped around his little finger that was for sure. 

“Daddy?” Marrow asked, the grin never leaving his face.

“Yes sweetheart?” he replied fondly.

Marrow then wiggled his way up, until he could reach Clover’s face with his hand and he tapped his nose. “Boop!” he giggled.

Clover chuckled and responded in kind, tapping Marrow's nose playfully. “Boop.”

Marrow giggled brightly in response, his tail wagging even more. Clover carried him back to the house, swinging him slightly as they walked. 

“I don’t wanna go back inside!” Marrow protested, pouting up at Clover.

Clover gave him a look, “I know. But it’s bedtime.”

“No! I don’t wanna!” Marrow argued.

“Why not?” Clover questioned as they reached the porch.

“Cause I’m not tired!” Marrow whined, wiggling more in Clover’s grip.

“Well maybe you will be when you get cleaned up and in your pajamas.” Clover reasoned, helping Marrow take off his winter clothes.

“Maybe I won’t be.” Marrow replied, as Clover slung him over his shoulder.

“But you could be.” Clover replied.

“What if I’m not?” Marrow asked as they reached the guest room.

“Then I’ll put you to sleep.” Clover replied cooley. 

“How?” Marrow asked, letting Clover help him into his pajamas.

“Magic dad powers.” Clover smiled, “And maybe a lullaby if you’re a good boy.”

Marrow didn’t reply to that one, and instead tried to bolt for the door. Clover snagged him from around the waist and dragged him back. Marrow then climbed over the operatives shoulder and tumbled behind him with a laugh. Clover spun around and pinned him to the ground, clawing his hand into his belly and rocking the boy side to side, making Marrow shriek and giggle. He then lifted Marrow into the air and nuzzled his belly before tossing him in the bed. Marrow laughed and tried to escape again before Clover caught him and hugged him tight. The faunus wriggled and laughed, pulling at Clover’s hands around his middle. 

“I’m not letting you go until you agree to lay down!” Clover grinned, placing a kiss on Marrow’s cheek.

Marrow giggled and attempted to wiggle free. He sighed when his efforts proved to be in vain and went limp in Clover’s arms. “Ok. Fine. But I’m not going to sleep!”

Clover grinned, “That’s fine. I just want you to lay down, under the covers, quietly.”

Marrow eyed him suspiciously but conceded and got snuggled under the covers. Clover snugly tucked him in, and pet his hair softly. 

“There.” Clover smiled, “Was that so hard?”

Marrow hummed a moment, “Yes.” 

Clover chuckled, “Of course it was. Now, I think I promised you a lullaby.”

Marrow nodded enthusiastically and gave Clover an adorable little grin. Clover chuckled and settled himself next to Marrow on the bed, and began. It was an old song his mother and father sang to him when he was little. It was a song from the perspective of a parent, watching their child grow up, all the while promising they would be there all the way. It always used to put Clover out like a light and seemed to be working pretty well for Marrow too, if the dropping eyes and slowed breathing were anything to go by.

As the last few notes fell from Clover’s lips Marrow was sound asleep on the bed. Clover smiled, kissed him softly on the forehead, and quietly exited the room. He padded gingerly to the living room where his parents sat, idly sipping tea and chatting.

“He’s asleep. Used that lullaby that used to knock me out.” Clover chuckled, curling up in the loveseat next to the couch.

“I’m a bit surprised you remember it. It’s been… well a long time since we last sang to you.” his father chuckled.

Clover smiled, “Now how could I ever forget that old song? You sang it every night.”

“Only because you wouldn’t go to sleep if I didn’t.” his mother teased with a grin.

Clover chuckled softly, “Fair point. He’s definitely better behaved than I was, even if he has his… moments.”

Ash chuckled, “Such is the way of parenthood. You’re good with him though, it’s clear you love him like your own.”

“He is my own.” Clover quickly replied. “He’s everything to me.”

Ivy smiled, “We know love. And now you know exactly how we feel about you.”

Clover rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, “Yeah, I do. I… I’d do anything for him. I would go against a pack of megoliaths weaponless if it meant he would live a happy and safe life.”

“You stole that from me.” Ivy teased, reaching over to playfully push Clover’s knee.

Clover laughed, “I plead the fifth.”

They all laughed and Ivy shook her head, “I swear you sound more and more like your father everyday.”

“Hey!” both he and his father said in unison.

There was a brief lapse of silence before Ash spoke, “So, seeing anyone?”

Clover felt his cheek heat up with a bright blush. “I- dad! Why- no! I’m not! You can’t just spring that on someone!”

Ash chuckled, “I was just asking!”

“But are you looking? I know you’re busy with your job and Marrow and your team, but you should still try to get out and try to meet someone.” Ivy added, idly stirring her tea.

Clover sighed, “I’m not actively looking. But I’m not really sure I want to get into a relationship right now. Sure I’m not against it, and if a guy comes around and we hit it off, then I’ll go for it. But it’s just not high on my list of priorities.”

Ash hummed and sipped his tea, “Just make sure to bring the lucky guy home. You know we have to give him a shovel talk.”

“Got it. Never leave you guys alone with him.” Clover nodded, smirking incolently.

“Oh we’ll shovel talk him regardless. Your embarrassment would only fuel us, you know that.” Ivy smirked right back.

Clover scoffed, “You are pure evil, you know that?”

“Like mother, like son.” Ash muttered, rolling his eyes in a fond way.

Clover stuck his tongue out at him, a childish move, but he was allowed that.

“Oh no no no, that was a pure Ash move.” Ivy was quick to point out.

“No way! That is an Ivy move all the way!” Ash shot back quickly.

“It’s a Ebi move.” Clover grinned, “Simple as that.”

His parents looked at each other and nodded, “Agreed.”

They shared a laugh and Clover let out a soft sigh. He had missed this, missed his parents. It always felt like too long since he had last seen them. Even if he called nearly every week and visited as much as he was able, it never felt like enough. Not to him. Which led to a question he wanted to ask.

“Hey, uh, can… can I ask you guys something?” he asked softly, queuing a mood shift in the room.

“Of course love. Is something wrong?” Ivy asked, putting her tea on the table and fixing him with a concerned look.

“I… do you think I’m doing a good job? With Marrow I mean?” he asked, fiddling with the edge of his gloves.

His parents shared a look before turning back to him, placing their respective cups of tea on the table. 

“Does it matter what we think?” Ash asked first.

“It does to me.” Clover responded without much hesitation.

Ivy smiled softly at him, “Well then yes, I’d say you’re doing a pretty fantastic job, especially considering you were just thrown into this. At least your father and I were able to plan and prepare for you.”

Ash hummed in agreement, “It’s clear that that boy loves you to the moon and back. Which is generally a good sign that you’re doing something right.”

“But remember this love.” his mother chimed in, “We aren’t your end all be all of what a good parent is. You have to look back at what we did, and improve on it. That’s how you be a good parent, listen to those around you, take it all with a grain of salt, and make a decision. But above all, listen to that boy. Listening is a huge part of parenting. If you don’t listen, your child will grow up to resent you, this I swear.” 

Clover absorbed all he heard and nodded along. “So basically, I’m doin ok, listen to Marrow, to the people around me, and it'll all be more or less ok?”

“More or less. Remember, mistakes are natural. Bad stuff happens and all you can control is how you react to it all.” Ash said, clapping a hand on Clover’s knee. “Alright Clovy?”

Clover chuckled at the old nickname and nodded, “Yeah. Alright. Thanks guys.” he smiled and yawned, “But the kiddo’s got me bushed, so I’m gonna turn in early. Night!”

“Goodnight!” they called to him as he stood and left to his and Marrow’s room.

Entering the room he smiled softly at his son, sleeping soundly with Noddle clutched to his chest and thumb part way in his mouth. He gently took the thumb out of his son's mouth and cards his hand through his hair. Marrow stirred slightly, turning into the touch and Clover kissed his cheek.

“Go back to sleep. It’s just me.” he whispered, tucking the blankets around Marrow a bit more.

Marrow sleepy nodded, his eyes never opening, and snuggled down into the blankets.

Clover’s eyes softened and he set about his usual bedtime routine before finally sliding under the covers and closing his eyes. But sleep wouldn’t come. He couldn’t stop thinking. 

Was he ready for an older Marrow? A teenager, or an adult version of his son? What if he goes on a mission and never comes back? Who will take care of Marrow then? What if something happens and he can no longer work? Will he be able to provide Marrow with the life he deserved? 

Brothers. He really should have thought this through more when he took the kid in. He didn’t regret it by any means, but it was suddenly hitting him just how much he had agreed to. His thoughts raced with what ifs, unfounded fears, and anxiety that he hadn’t felt so profoundly since his academy days.

That was when a small, sleepy voice broke through his thoughts.

“Daddy?” Marrow asked, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes.

Clover let out a shaky breath, trying to steady his nerves. “Hey buddy. Go back to bed.”

Marrow didn’t move, blinking lethargically at Clover, “Are you ok?”

Clover was taken aback, “Yes sweetpea. I’m ok. Go back to sleep.”

The young faunus's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head. Before Clover could say “good luck” he was out of his bed and snuggling under the covers with Clover.

“Marrow?” he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Cuddles.” came the simple reply.

The Ace Op couldn’t argue with that, so after he scooted back and cuddled Marrow to his chest. “If you say so Marrs.” But there was no reply, as Marrow was already asleep.

He smiled and brushed a stray hair out of Marrow’s face kissing his forehead and hugging him gently. 

He may not know what the future held, and maybe he wouldn’t be prepared for it. But he knew, without a shred of doubt in his heart, he’d be there for Marrow. Always.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed this! There will be more coming soon! Have a lovely day!!


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